Security Council resolution 1996 (2011) [on establishment of the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS)]
Symbol: S/RES/1996(2011)
Date: 2011-07-08
Status: adopted
Agenda: S/66 [216] UN MISSION IN SOUTH SUDAN
S/66 [160] SUDAN--POLITICAL CONDITIONS
Subjects: UN Mission in South Sudan > Terms of reference|UN Mission in South Sudan > Establishment|UN. Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Head of the United Nations Mission in South Sudan|UN Mission in Sudan|AU/UN Hybrid Operation in Darfur|Model Status-of-Forces Agreement for Peace-keeping Operations (1990)|Charter of the United Nations (1945). Chapter VII|PEACEKEEPING OPERATIONS|PEACEBUILDING|MILITARY PERSONNEL|POLICE|BOUNDARIES|STAFF SECURITY|SOUTH SUDAN|SUDAN|FREEDOM OF MOVEMENT|RELIEF PERSONNEL|HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS|CEASEFIRES|CHILD WELFARE|COOPERATION BETWEEN ORGANIZATIONS|DEVELOPMENT ASSISTANCE|CAPACITY BUILDING|GENDER-BASED VIOLENCE|HUMAN RIGHTS IN ARMED CONFLICTS|HIV/AIDS PREVENTION
Votes in favour: 15
Votes against: 0
Abstentions: 0
Voting record:
country: BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA
vote: yes
country: BRAZIL
vote: yes
country: CHINA
vote: yes
country: COLOMBIA
vote: yes
country: FRANCE
vote: yes
country: GABON
vote: yes
country: GERMANY
vote: yes
country: INDIA
vote: yes
country: LEBANON
vote: yes
country: NIGERIA
vote: yes
country: PORTUGAL
vote: yes
country: RUSSIAN FEDERATION
vote: yes
country: SOUTH AFRICA
vote: yes
country: UNITED KINGDOM
vote: yes
country: UNITED STATES
vote: yes

                United Nations                                                                     S/RES/1996 (2011)*
                Security Council                                                 Distr.: General
                                                                                 8 July 2011




                Resolution 1996 (2011)
                Adopted by the Security Council at its 6576th meeting, on
                8 July 2011

                     The Security Council,
                     Welcoming the establishment of the Republic of South Sudan on 9 July 2011
                upon its proclamation as an independent state,
                      Reaffirming its strong commitment to the sovereignty, independence, territorial
                integrity, and national unity of the Republic of South Sudan,
                      Recalling the Presidential Statement of 11 February 2011 that affirmed that
                national ownership and national responsibility are key to establishing sustainable
                peace and the primary responsibility of national authorities in identifying their
                priorities and strategies for post-conflict peacebuilding,
                      Stressing the need for a comprehensive and integrated approach to peace
                consolidation that strengthens coherence between political, security, development,
                human rights, and rule of law activities, and addresses the underlying causes of
                conflict, and underlining that security and development are closely interlinked and
                mutually reinforcing and key to attaining sustainable peace,
                     Deploring the persistence of conflict and violence and its effect on civilians,
                including the killing and displacement of significant numbers of civilians, and
                noting the importance of sustained cooperation and dialogue with civil society in the
                context of stabilizing the security situation and ensuring the protection of civilians,
                     Underscoring the need for coherent UN activities in the Republic of South
                Sudan, which requires clarity about roles, responsibilities, and collaboration
                between UNMISS and the UN Country Team, and noting the need for cooperation
                with other relevant actors in the region, including the African Union-United Nations
                Hybrid Mission in Darfur (UNAMID), the UN Interim Security Force for Abyei
                (UNISFA), and the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the
                Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO),
                     Recalling previous statements on post-conflict peacebuilding, stressing the
                importance of institution-building as a critical component of peacebuilding, and
                emphasizing a more effective and coherent national and international response to

            * Reissued for technical reasons on 14 July 2011.


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               enable countries emerging from conflict to deliver core government functions,
               including managing political disputes peacefully, and making use of existing
               national capacities in order to ensure national ownership of this process,
                     Emphasizing the vital role of the United Nations to support national
               authorities, in close consultation with international partners, to consolidate the peace
               and prevent a return to violence and therefore to develop an early strategy in support
               of national peacebuilding priorities, including establishment of core government
               functions, provision of basic services, establishment of the rule of law, respect for
               human rights, management of natural resources, development of the security sector,
               tackling youth unemployment, and revitalization of the economy,
                     Recognizing the importance of supporting peacebuilding efforts in order to lay
               the foundation for sustainable development,
                     Underscoring the need for forging stronger and well-defined partnerships
               among the United Nations, development agencies, bilateral partners, and other
               relevant actors, regional and subregional institutions and the international financial
               institutions, to implement national strategies aimed at effective institution building,
               which are based on national ownership, the achievement of results, and mutual
               accountability,
                    Recognizing the need for the Security Council to show flexibility in making
               necessary adjustments to the mission priorities, where appropriate, according to
               progress achieved, lessons learned, or changing circumstances on the ground,
                    Recognizing the need to broaden and deepen the pool of available civilian
               experts, especially women and experts from developing countries, to help develop
               national capacity, and encouraging Member States, the United Nations and other
               partners to strengthen cooperation and coordination to ensure that relevant expertise
               is mobilized to support the peacebuilding needs of the Government of the Republic
               of South Sudan and people of the Republic of South Sudan,
                    Recalling its resolution 1612 (2005) and 1882 (2009) and Presidential
               Statements of 29 April 2009 (S/PRST2009/9) and 16 June 2010 (S/PRST/2010/10)
               on children and armed conflict, and taking note of the reports of the Secretary
               General on Children and Armed Conflict in Sudan dated 10 February 2009
               (S/2009/84) and 29 August 2007 (S/2007/520), and the conclusions endorsed by the
               Security Council Working Group on Children and Armed Conflict in the Sudan
               (S/AC.51/2009/5),
                     Reaffirming its resolutions 1674 (2006) and 1894 (2009) on the protection of
               civilians in armed conflict, and 1502 (2003) on the protection of humanitarian and
               United Nations personnel,
                     Reaffirming its resolutions 1325 (2000), 1820 (2008), 1888 (2009), 1889
               (2009) and 1960 (2010) on women, peace, and security and reiterating the need for
               the full, equal, and effective participation of women at all stages of peace processes
               given their vital role in the prevention and resolution of conflict and peacebuilding;
               reaffirming the key role women can play in re-establishing the fabric of recovering
               society and stressing the need for their involvement in the development and
               implementation of post-conflict strategies in order to take into account their
               perspectives and needs,




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                Acknowledging the importance of drawing on best practices, past experience,
           and lessons learned from other missions, especially by Troop and Police
           Contributing Countries, in line with ongoing UN peacekeeping reform initiatives,
           including the New Horizon Report, Global Field Support Strategy, and the Review
           of Civilian Capacity,
                 Bearing in mind the 20 June Agreement between the Government of Sudan and
           the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement on Temporary Arrangements for the
           Administration and Security of the Abyei Area; the 28 June Framework Agreement
           between the Government of Sudan and the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement
           (North) on Political and Security Arrangements in Blue Nile and Southern Kordofan
           States; and the 29 June Agreement between the Government of Sudan and the
           Government of South Sudan on Border Security and the Joint Political and Security
           Mechanism,
                 Determining that the situation faced by South Sudan continues to constitute a
           threat to international peace and security in the region,
                Acting under Chapter VII of the Charter of the United Nations,
                 1.    Decides to establish as of 9 July 2011 the United Nations Mission in the
           Republic of South Sudan (UNMISS) for an initial period of one year with the
           intention to renew for further periods as may be required and further decides that
           UNMISS will consist of up to 7,000 military personnel, including military liaison
           officers and staff officers, up to 900 civilian police personnel, including as
           appropriate formed units, and an appropriate civilian component, including
           technical human rights investigation expertise; and further decides to review in
           three and six months whether the conditions on the ground could allow a reduction
           of military personnel to a level of 6,000;
                2.   Welcomes the appointment by the Secretary-General of his Special
           Representative for the Republic of South Sudan, and requests the Secretary-General,
           through his Special Representative, to direct the operations of an integrated
           UNMISS, coordinate all activities of the United Nations system in the Republic of
           South Sudan, and support a coherent international approach to a stable peace in the
           Republic of South Sudan;
                 3.   Decides that the mandate of UNMISS shall be to consolidate peace and
           security, and to help establish the conditions for development in the Republic of
           South Sudan, with a view to strengthening the capacity of the Government of the
           Republic of South Sudan to govern effectively and democratically and establish
           good relations with its neighbours, and accordingly authorizes UNMISS to perform
           the following tasks;
                 (a) Support for peace consolidation and thereby fostering longer-term statebuilding and economic development, through:
                (i) Providing good offices, advice, and support to the Government of the
                Republic of South Sudan on political transition, governance, and establishment
                of state authority, including formulation of national policies in this regard;
                (ii) Promoting popular participation in political processes, including through
                advising and supporting the Government of the Republic of South Sudan on an
                inclusive constitutional process; the holding of elections in accordance with



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                    the constitution; promoting the establishment of an independent media; and
                    ensuring the participation of women in decision-making forums;
                     (b) Support the Government of the Republic of South Sudan in exercising its
               responsibilities for conflict prevention, mitigation, and resolution and protect
               civilians through:
                    (i) Exercising good offices, confidence-building, and facilitation at the
                    national, state, and county levels within capabilities to anticipate, prevent,
                    mitigate, and resolve conflict;
                    (ii) Establishment and implementation of a mission-wide early warning
                    capacity, with an integrated approach to information gathering, monitoring,
                    verification, early warning and dissemination, and follow-up mechanisms;
                    (iii) Monitoring, investigating, verifying, and reporting regularly on human
                    rights and potential threats against the civilian population as well as actual and
                    potential violations of international humanitarian and human rights law,
                    working as appropriate with the Office of the High Commissioner for Human
                    Rights, bringing these to the attention of the authorities as necessary, and
                    immediately reporting gross violations of human rights to the UN Security
                    Council;
                    (iv) Advising and assisting the Government of the Republic of South Sudan,
                    including military and police at national and local levels as appropriate, in
                    fulfilling its responsibility to protect civilians, in compliance with
                    international humanitarian, human rights, and refugee law;
                    (v) Deterring violence including through proactive deployment and patrols in
                    areas at high risk of conflict, within its capabilities and in its areas of
                    deployment, protecting civilians under imminent threat of physical violence, in
                    particular when the Government of the Republic of South Sudan is not
                    providing such security;
                    (vi) Providing security for United Nations and humanitarian personnel,
                    installations and equipment necessary for implementation of mandated tasks,
                    bearing in mind the importance of mission mobility, and contributing to the
                    creation of security conditions conducive to safe, timely, and unimpeded
                    humanitarian assistance;
                     (c) Support the Government of the Republic of South Sudan, in accordance
               with the principles of national ownership, and in cooperation with the UN Country
               Team and other international partners, in developing its capacity to provide security,
               to establish rule of law, and to strengthen the security and justice sectors through:
                    (i) Supporting the development of strategies for security sector reform, rule
                    of law, and justice sector development, including human rights capacities and
                    institutions;
                    (ii) Supporting the Government of the Republic of South Sudan in
                    developing and implementing a national disarmament, demobilization and
                    reintegration strategy, in cooperation with international partners with particular
                    attention to the special needs of women and child combatants;




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                (iii) Strengthening the capacity of the Republic of South Sudan Police
                Services through advice on policy, planning, and legislative development, as
                well as training and mentoring in key areas;
                (iv) Supporting the Government of the Republic of South Sudan in
                developing a military justice system that is complementary to the civil justice
                system;
                (v) Facilitating a protective environment for children affected by armed
                conflict, through implementation of a monitoring and reporting mechanism;
                (vi) Supporting the Government of the Republic of South Sudan in
                conducting de-mining activities within available resources and strengthening
                the capacity of the Republic of South Sudan Demining Authority to conduct
                mine action in accordance with International Mine Action Standards;
                4.   Authorizes UNMISS to use all necessary means, within the limits of its
           capacity and in the areas where its units are deployed, to carry out its protection
           mandate as set out in paragraphs 3 (b) (iv), 3 (b) (v), and 3 (b) (vi);
                5.    Requests the Government of Sudan and the Government of the Republic
           of South Sudan to propose by 20 July modalities for implementation of the 29 June
           agreement on border monitoring, and in case the parties fail to do so, requests
           UNMISS to observe and report on any flow of personnel, arms, and related materiel
           across the border with Sudan;
                 6.    Demands that the Government of the Republic of South Sudan and all
           relevant parties cooperate fully in the deployment, operations, and monitoring,
           verification, and reporting functions of UNMISS, in particular by guaranteeing the
           safety, security and unrestricted freedom of movement of United Nations personnel,
           as well as of associated personnel throughout the territory of the Republic of South
           Sudan;
                7.    Calls upon all Member States to ensure the free, unhindered and
           expeditious movement to and from the Republic of South Sudan of all personnel, as
           well as equipment, provisions, supplies and other goods, including vehicles and
           spare parts, which are for the exclusive and official use of UNMISS;
                 8.   Calls upon all parties to allow, in accordance with relevant provisions of
           international law, the full, safe and unhindered access of relief personnel to all those
           in need and delivery of humanitarian assistance, in particular to internally displaced
           persons and refugees;
                 9.   Demands that all parties, in particular rebel militias and the LRA,
           immediately cease all forms of violence and human rights abuses against the civilian
           population in South Sudan, in particular gender-based violence, including rape and
           other forms of sexual abuse as well as all violations and abuses against children in
           violation of applicable international law such as their recruitment and use, killing
           and maiming and abduction with a view to specific and time-bound commitments to
           combat sexual violence in accordance with resolution 1960 and violence and abuses
           against children;
                10. Calls upon the Government of the Republic of South Sudan and the
           SPLA to renew the action plan (signed between the UN and SPLA on 20 November
           2009) to end the recruitment and use of child soldiers that expired in November



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               2010, and requests UNMISS to advise and assist the Government of the Republic of
               South Sudan in this regard; further requests the Secretary-General to strengthen
               child protection in UN system activities in the Republic of South Sudan and ensure
               continued monitoring and reporting of the situation of children;
                     11. Encourages the Government of the Republic of South Sudan to ratify
               into law and implement key international human rights treaties and conventions,
               including those related to women and children, refugees, and statelessness, and
               requests UNMISS to advise and assist the Government of the Republic of South
               Sudan in this regard;
                     12. Calls upon the Government of the Republic of South Sudan to take
               measures to improve women’s participation in the outstanding issues of the CPA and
               post-independence arrangements and to enhance the engagement of South Sudanese
               women in public decision-making at all levels including by promoting women’s
               leadership, supporting women’s organizations, and countering negative societal
               attitudes about women’s capacity to participate equally;
                    13. Calls upon the authorities of the Republic of South Sudan to combat
               impunity and hold accountable all perpetrators of human rights and international
               humanitarian law violations, including those committed by illegal armed groups or
               elements of the Republic of South Sudan Security Forces;
                     14. Calls upon the Government of the Republic of South Sudan to end
               prolonged, arbitrary detention, and establish a safe, secure and humane prison
               system through the provision of advice and technical assistance, in cooperation with
               international partners, and requests UNMISS to advise and assist the Government of
               the Republic of South Sudan in this regard;
                    15. Calls upon UNMISS to coordinate with the Government of the Republic
               of South Sudan and participate in regional coordination and information
               mechanisms to improve protection of civilians and support disarmament,
               demobilization and reintegration efforts in light of the attacks by the LRA in the
               Republic of South Sudan and requests the Secretary General to include in his
               UNMISS trimesterly reports a summary of cooperation and information sharing
               between UNMISS, the African Union/United Nations Hybrid Operation in Darfur
               (UNAMID), the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the
               Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUSCO), and regional and international
               partners in addressing the LRA threats;
                     16. Requests that the Secretary-General transfer appropriate functions
               performed by the UN Mission in Sudan (UNMIS) to UNMISS, together with
               appropriate staff and logistics necessary for achieving the new scope of functions to
               be performed, on the date when UNMISS is established, and begin the orderly
               liquidation of UNMIS;
                     17. Authorizes the Secretary-General to take the necessary steps in order to
               ensure inter-mission cooperation, and authorizes, within the overall troop ceiling set
               out at paragraph 1 above, appropriate transfers of troops from other missions,
               subject to the agreement of the troop-contributing countries and without prejudice to
               the performance of the mandates of these United Nations missions;
                  18. Requests the Special Representative of the Secretary General and
               UNMISS to work with the Government of the Republic of South Sudan, the UN



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           Country Team, and bilateral and multilateral partners including the World Bank and
           report back to the Council within four months on a plan for UN system support to
           specific peacebuilding tasks, especially security sector reform, police institutional
           development, rule of law and justice sector support, human rights capacity-building,
           early recovery, formulation of national policies related to key issues of state
           building and development, and establishing the conditions for development,
           consistent with national priorities and with a view to contributing to the
           development of a common framework for monitoring progress in these areas;
                 19. Requests the Secretary-General to report to the Council on the expected
           timeline of the deployment of all mission elements, including the status of
           consultations with Troop and Police-Contributing Countries and of the deployment
           of key enablers; and stressing the importance of achievable and realistic targets
           against which the progress of UNMISS can be measured, requests the Secretary-General, following consultations with the Government of the Republic of South
           Sudan, to present benchmarks for the mission to the Council within four months,
           and to keep the Council regularly informed of progress every four months
           thereafter;
                 20. Stresses the need for the United Nations, international financial
           institutions, and bilateral and multilateral partners, to work closely with the
           Government of the Republic of South Sudan to ensure that international assistance
           is consistent with national priorities, including the South Sudan Development Plan,
           and can deliver prioritized support that reflects the specific peacebuilding needs and
           priorities of the Republic of South Sudan; and requests the Secretary-General’s
           Special Representative to represent the UN system in relevant international
           assistance mechanisms and processes;
                21. Encourages the Secretary-General to explore ideas in the independent
           report of the Senior Advisory Group on Civilian Capacity in the Aftermath of
           Conflict that could be implemented in the Republic of South Sudan;
                 22. Requests the Secretary-General, in particular, to utilize to the greatest
           extent possible opportunities for co-location of appropriate mission components
           with the Republic of South Sudan counterparts in the interest of building national
           capacity; and to seek opportunities to deliver early peace dividends by utilizing
           local procurement and otherwise enhancing, to the extent possible, UNMISS’s
           contribution to the economy;
                23. Requests the Secretary-General to continue the necessary measures to
           ensure full compliance by UNMISS with the United Nations zero tolerance policy
           on sexual exploitation and abuse and to keep the Council fully informed, and urges
           troop-contributing countries to take appropriate preventive action including
           predeployment awareness training, and other action to ensure full accountability in
           cases of such conduct involving their personnel;
                 24. Reaffirms the importance of appropriate gender expertise and training in
           missions mandated by the Security Council in accordance with resolutions 1325
           (2000) and 1820 (2008), recalls the need to address violence against women and
           girls as a tool of warfare, looks forward to the appointment of women protection
           advisors in accordance with resolutions 1888 (2009), 1889 (2009) and 1960 (2010),
           requests the Secretary General to establish monitoring, analysis and reporting
           arrangements on conflict-related sexual violence, including rape in situations of



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               armed conflict and post-conflict and other situations relevant to the implementation
               of resolution 1888 (2009), as appropriate, and encourages UNMISS as well as the
               Government of the Republic of South Sudan to actively address these issues;
                      25. Requests the Secretary-General to consider HIV-related needs of people
               living with, affected by, and vulnerable to HIV, including women and girls, when
               fulfilling mandated tasks, and in this context, encourages the incorporation, as
               appropriate, of HIV prevention, treatment, care, and support, including voluntary
               and confidential counselling and testing programs in the mission;
                     26. Requests that the Secretary-General and the Government of the Republic
               of South Sudan conclude a status-of-forces agreement within 30 days of adoption of
               this resolution, taking into consideration General Assembly resolution 58/82 on the
               scope of legal protection under the Convention on the Safety of United Nations and
               Associated Personnel, and decides that pending the conclusion of such an
               agreement, the model status-of-forces agreement dated 9 October 1990 (A/45/594),
               shall apply provisionally;
                    27.   Decides that this resolution shall take effect on 9 July 2011;
                    28.   Decides to remain actively seized of the matter.




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