Security Council resolution 2524 (2020) [on establishment of the Integrated Transition Assistance Mission in Sudan (UNITAMS)]
Symbol: S/RES/2524 (2020)
Date: 2020-06-03
Status: adopted
Agenda: S/75 [205] UN INTEGRATED TRANSITION ASSISTANCE MISSION IN SUDAN
S/75 [204] AU/UN HYBRID OPERATION IN DARFUR
S/75 [160] SUDAN--POLITICAL CONDITIONS
S/ X Reports of the Secretary-General on the Sudan and South Sudan.
Subjects: UN Integrated Transition Assistance Mission in Sudan|UN Integrated Transition Assistance Mission in Sudan > Establishment|UN. Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Head of the United Nations Integrated Transition Assistance Mission in Sudan|UN. Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Sudan|AU/UN Hybrid Operation in Darfur|PEACEKEEPING OPERATIONS|PEACEBUILDING|GOOD OFFICES|DARFUR (SUDAN)|SUDAN
Votes in favour: 15
Votes against: 0
Abstentions: 0
Voting record:
country: BELGIUM
vote: yes
country: CHINA
vote: yes
country: DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
vote: yes
country: ESTONIA
vote: yes
country: FRANCE
vote: yes
country: GERMANY
vote: yes
country: INDONESIA
vote: yes
country: NIGER
vote: yes
country: RUSSIAN FEDERATION
vote: yes
country: SAINT VINCENT AND THE GRENADINES
vote: yes
country: SOUTH AFRICA
vote: yes
country: TUNISIA
vote: yes
country: UNITED KINGDOM
vote: yes
country: UNITED STATES
vote: yes
country: VIET NAM
vote: yes

               United Nations                                                                      S/RES/2524 (2020)
               Security Council                                                  Distr.: General
                                                                                 3 June 2020




               Resolution 2524 (2020)
               Adopted by the Security Council on 3 June 2020

                    The Security Council,
                     Reaffirming all its previous resolutions and presidential statements concerning
               the situation in Sudan,
                      Reaffirming its strong commitment to the sovereignty, unity, independence, and
               territorial integrity of Sudan,
                     Welcoming the signing of the Constitutional Document on 17 August 2019 on
               the establishment of a new civilian-led transitional Government and transitional
               institutions, further welcoming the steps taken to date to implement the Constitutional
               Document and calling upon all stakeholders to remain committed to the transition in
               order for the aspirations of the Sudanese people for a peaceful, stable, democratic,
               and prosperous future to be realised, reaffirming its readiness to support Sudan in this
               regard and commending the vital role played by the African Union in supporting
               Sudan in its transition to democracy and good governance,
                     Welcoming the commitment in the Constitutional Document to achieve a fair
               and comprehensive peace in Sudan by addressing the root causes an d the impact of
               conflict, acknowledging in this regard the progress made in the peace negotiations in
               Juba, noting with appreciation the role of the Government of South Sudan in
               supporting these negotiations, urging the parties to the conflict to engage
               constructively to swiftly reach a peace agreement, and further urging those who have
               not yet engaged in peace negotiations to do so immediately, without pre -conditions,
                    Welcoming the cessation of hostilities by many parties to the conflicts in Sudan,
               as well as their positive responses to the Secretary-General’s appeal for a global
               ceasefire amid the COVID-19 pandemic,
                     Reaffirming the primary responsibility of the Government of Sudan to protect
               civilians across its territory and recognising improvements in security conditions in
               Darfur, acknowledging in this regard the Government of Sudan’s National Plan for
               Civilian Protection (S/2020/429) and the weapons-collection programme, while
               expressing concern that the security situation in some regions of Darfur remains
               precarious, and underscoring the need to protect peacebuilding gains in Darfur, avoid
               a relapse into conflict and mitigate the risks for the population posed inter alia by
               threats against civilians in Darfur, inter-communal violence, human rights violations
               and abuses, violations of international humanitarian law and continued displacement,




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                    Recognising the adverse effects of climate change, ecological changes and
               natural disasters, among other factors, on the stability of Sudan, particularly Darfur,
               and stressing the need for adequate risk assessment and risk management strategies
               by the Government of Sudan and the United Nations relating to these factors to
               support stabilisation and build resilience,
                     Welcoming the decisions of the Government of Sudan to facilitate the delivery
               of humanitarian assistance and create more favourable conditions for humanitarian
               actors and encouraging the full implementation of these decisions in order to ensure
               rapid, safe and unhindered humanitarian access throughout Sudan, in accordance with
               relevant provisions of international law and in line with United Nations guiding
               principles of humanitarian assistance, including humanity, impartiality, neutrality,
               and independence
                     Stressing the need for the Government of Sudan to ensure accountability for
               violations of international humanitarian law and international human rights law, and
               welcoming the provisions of the Constitutional Document on transitional justice and
               accountability measures in this regard,
                     Stressing the primary responsibility of the Government of Sudan to address the
               longstanding drivers of instability and inequality in Sudan, and to engage with other
               stakeholders, including civil society, women, youth, and internally displaced persons,
               refugees and members of marginalised communities to deliver durable solutions to
               Sudan’s immediate and long-term issues, including through inclusive economic
               growth and sustainable development, social cohesion, and disaster resil ience, in line
               with the priorities of the Constitutional Document,
                      Recognizing the important role that women played in the peaceful political
               transition in Sudan, welcoming the steps taken to increase the role of women in public
               life, government institutions and decision-making processes, further welcoming the
               decision to criminalise female genital mutilation (FGM) in Sudan and encouraging
               the completion of all necessary administrative steps in this regard, acknowledging the
               Government of Sudan’s efforts to develop a National Action Plan on Women, Peace
               and Security, and encouraging it’s completion and full implementation, calling upon
               the Government of Sudan to take further steps to promote and protect women’s rights
               and full, equal and meaningful participation in all social, political, economic aspects
               of life, including by repealing all laws that discriminate against women and girls and
               by meeting the 40% quota for women’s participation in the Transitional Legislative
               Council, recognising the disproportionate impact of conflict on women and girls and
               calling upon on the Government of Sudan to ensure women’s full, equal and
               meaningful participation in peace processes, implementation of future peace
               agreements, conflict prevention and decision making- and reform processes related to
               peace and security,
                     Underlining the importance of integrating child protection issues in Sudan’s
               peace processes and calling on the parties to the conflict to integrate child protection
               provisions, including those relating to the release and reintegration of children
               formerly associated with armed forces or armed groups, as well as provisions on the
               rights and well-being of children, into all peace negotiations, ceasefire and peace
               agreements, and in provisions for ceasefire monitoring and taking into account
               children’s views, where possible, in these processes,
                     Emphasizing the importance of national ownership, inclusivity, and the role that
               civil society can play to advance national peacebuilding processes and objectives in
               order to ensure that the needs of all stakeholders are taken into account,
                   Expressing grave concern about the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on
               Sudan and recognising that this presents a profound challenge to Sudan’s health


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           system, socio-economic and humanitarian situation and populations that have already
           been exhausted by protracted conflict, and emphasising the importance of
           international support – financially, technically and in-kind – to the COVID-19
           response in Sudan,
                Underlining the importance of the partnership between the United Nations and
           the African Union in Sudan,
              Taking note of the Special Report of the Chairperson of the African Union
           Commission and the Secretary-General of the United Nations (S/2020/202),
                Taking note of the of the African Union Peace and Security Council’s
           Communiqué of 3 March 2020 (PSC/PR/COMM.(CMXIII)) and 27 May 2020
           (PS/PR/COMM.(CMXXVII)),
               Taking note of the letter by the Government of Sudan addressed to the Secretary -
           General of the United Nations 27 February 2020 on future United Nations support to
           Sudan (S/2020/221),
                1.    Decides to establish a United Nations Integrated Transition Assistance
           Mission in Sudan (UNITAMS) upon the adoption of this resolution and for an initial
           period of 12 months;
                2.   Further decides that UNITAMS, as part of an integrated and unified
           United Nations structure, shall, in full accordance with the principles of national
           ownership, have the following strategic objectives:

                (i)    Assist the political transition, progress towards democratic governance,
                       in the protection and promotion of human rights, and sustainable peace
                     a.     Assist, through good offices, the Sudanese transition, including
                national efforts to realise the objectives of the Constitutional Document;
                     b.    Provide technical assistance to the constitution drafting process, the
                population census, preparations for elections, in support of national efforts;
                      c.   Support the implementation of the human rights, equality,
                accountability and rule of law provisions of the Constitutional Document, in
                particular those provisions that guarantee women’s rights, and future peace
                agreements, including through close cooperation with the United Nations Office
                of the High Commissioner for Human Rights Country Office in Sudan;

                (ii)   Support peace processes and implementation of future peace agreements
                     a.    Provide good offices and support to the Sudanese peace negotiations,
                including supporting the meaningful participation of civil society, women,
                youth, refugees and IDPs and members of marginalised groups;
                      b.    Provide, if so requested by the parties to the negotiations, scalable
                support to the implementation of any future peace agreements, including support
                to accountability and transitional justice, including for acts of sexual and
                gender-based violence, to disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration
                (DDR), including transitional weapons and ammunition management, and
                taking into account the different needs, experiences, and s afety of female and
                male ex-combatants, including children, as well as the monitoring and
                verification of possible ceasefires with particular focus on Blue Nile and South
                Kordofan (the Two Areas) and Darfur;




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                    (iii) Assist peacebuilding, civilian protection and rule of law, in particular in
                          Darfur and the Two Areas
                          a.    Support Sudanese-led peacebuilding, in particular conflict
                    prevention, mitigation and reconciliation, community violence reduction with a
                    particular focus on inter-communal conflict, mine action, collection of small
                    arms and light weapons consistent with international standards, and durable
                    solutions for IDPs and refugees, and their safe, voluntary and dignified return,
                    reintegration and relocation with host populations as appropria te, including
                    through integrated peacebuilding mechanisms in line with paragraph 7 of this
                    resolution and political engagement at the local and state level;
                          b.    Assist, advise and support the Government of Sudan’s capacity to
                    extend state presence and inclusive civilian governance, in particular through
                    strengthening accountable rule of law and security sector institutions and
                    building trust between state authorities and local communities, including
                    through community-policing initiatives, or other methods of unarmed civilian
                    protection, and providing advisory and capacity building support for security
                    authorities, in particular the Sudanese Police Force (SPF), including through
                    United Nations advisers;
                          c.    Assist, advise and support the Government of Sudan to establish a
                    secure and stable environment within which any future peace agreement can be
                    implemented, by providing effective support to national and local authorities on
                    civilian protection, in particular IDPs, in the conflict -affected areas, supporting
                    the Government of Sudan in implementing the National Plan for Civilian
                    Protection (S/2020/429) and developing measurable benchmarks, and through
                    deploying mobile monitoring teams, facilitating local crisi s mediation, early
                    warning mechanisms, including Women Protection networks, communications
                    and outreach strategies with affected populations;
                          d.   Support the strengthening of the protection of human rights, in
                    particular in conflict affected areas, including by supporting protection for
                    women and for children from all forms of sexual and gender-based violence and
                    other violations and abuses, through monitoring and reporting of violations of
                    international humanitarian law and international human rights law, and refugee
                    law, implementation of the Framework of Cooperation between the United
                    Nations and the Government of Sudan on conflict-related sexual violence
                    (CRSV), support to the development and implementation of action plans and a
                    national prevention plan on violations and abuses against children, through
                    women and child protection advisers and supporting the provision of medical,
                    psychosocial, legal and socioeconomic services to all survivors of sexual
                    violence;

                    (iv) Support the mobilisation of economic and development assistance and
                         coordination of humanitarian assistance
                         a.    Collaborate with the international financial institutions, to support
                    the mobilisation of international economic and development assistance;
                          b.    Support and facilitate, in close cooperation with humanitarian actors,
                    full, rapid, safe and unhindered delivery of humanitarian assistance and its
                    coordination, in accordance with the relevant provisions of international law
                    and in line with humanitarian principles;
                         c.    Ensure effective and integrated cooperation of United Nations
                    agencies, funds and programmes and promote cooperation with relevant
                    partners, including the international financial institutions and donors, in

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                carrying out, as relevant, the strategic objectives of UNITAMS , with a view to
                making maximum use of existing and forthcoming bilateral and multilateral
                assistance in Sudan, including in response to the COVID -19 pandemic;
                 3.    Requests the Secretary-General to appoint expeditiously a Special
           Representative of the Secretary-General (SRSG) for Sudan and Head of Mission of
           UNITAMS, who shall assume overall authority and provide strategic direction for all
           activities of UNITAMS and the United Nations agencies, funds and programmes in
           Sudan and who shall perform a good offices, advisory and advocacy role at the
           political level and coordinate efforts of the international community in support of the
           strategic objectives of the UNITAMS mandate;
                4.   Decides that a Deputy Special Representative should be appointed to
           support the SRSG and serve as United Nations Resident Coordinator and
           Humanitarian Coordinator and further decides that the cooperation between
           UNITAMS and its integrated United Nations Country Team (UNCT) partners shall be
           underpinned by an Integrated Strategic Framework or equivalent;
                 5.    Requests the Secretary-General to swiftly initiate the planning for and
           establishment of UNITAMS, with a view to reaching full operational capacity as soon
           as possible and in order to ensure the mission is able to start delivering a gainst all its
           strategic objectives no later than 1 January 2021, and further requests the Secretary-General to provide the Security Council, for its information, with a suggested structure
           and geographical deployment, within 60 days of the adoption of this resolution;
                6.    Requests the Secretary-General, in partnership with all relevant actors,
           including International Financial Institutions, to support the Government of Sudan in
           conducting a comprehensive assessment to define the country’s longer term confl ict
           prevention, recovery and peacebuilding needs and in developing relevant strategies
           to address these needs;
                 7.    Requests UNITAMS and its integrated UNCT partners to establish an
           appropriate mechanism for joint and coordinated peacebuilding support, base d on
           lessons learned from the State Liaison Functions (SLFs) established under the
           mandate of UNAMID, recognising that they function as an innovative tool to deliver
           integrated and coordinated peacebuilding support, and further requests that these
           mechanisms established by UNITAMS and its integrated UNCT partners be located
           in Darfur, including in Jebel Marra, based on a partnership between UNITAMS and
           UNAMID, and also to be established by UNITAMS in the Two Areas consistent with
           UNITAMS’ relevant strategic objectives outlined in paragraph 2 of this resolution and
           the Integrated Strategic Framework;
                 8.    Requests that UNITAMS integrates gender considerations as a crosscutting issue throughout its mandate and assists the Government of Sudan in ensuring
           the full, equal and meaningful participation of women at all levels of peace and
           political processes, and in all social and economic aspects of life, and reaffirms the
           importance of gender expertise, including the deployment of gender and women
           protection advisors, gender analysis, including the collection and use of sex- and agedisaggregated data, and capacity-strengthening in executing the mission mandate in
           a gender-responsive manner, and requests the Secretary-General to include gender
           analysis in the reports requested in paragraph 16 of this resolution;
                9.    Requests UNITAMS to ensure that any support provided to non-United
           Nations security forces is provided in strict compliance with the Human Rights Due
           Diligence Policy on United Nations support to non-United Nations security forces;
                 10. Welcomes the commitment of the Secretary-General to enforce strictly his
           zero-tolerance policy on sexual exploitation and abuse (SEA), requests the Secretary-General to continue to implement a zero-tolerance approach to sexual harassment,

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               further requests the Secretary-General to take all necessary measures to ensure full
               compliance of all UNITAMS personnel with this policy and approach, stresses the
               need to prevent such exploitation and abuse and to improve how these allegations are
               addressed in line with resolution 2272 (2016), urges all member states who contribute
               uniformed personnel to take appropriate preventative action, including vetting of all
               personnel, pre-deployment and in-mission awareness training, and ensure full
               accountability in cases of such conduct involving their personnel, including timely
               investigations and holding perpetrators to account and further requests the Secretary-General to keep the Council fully informed about the mission’s progress in this
               regard;
                     11. Requests UNITAMS to cooperate with the Panel of Experts on the Sudan
               established pursuant to resolution 1591 (2005) in order to facilitate the Panel’s work;
                     12. Urges close coordination among United Nations missions in the region,
               including the African Union-United Nations Hybrid Operation in Darfur (UNAMID),
               and in particular with the United Nations Interim Security Force for Abyei (UNISFA),
               and also the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS), the United Nations
               Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL), the United Nations Multidimensional
               Integrated Stabilisation Mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA) and the
               Special Envoy of Secretary-General for the Horn of Africa, and requests the
               Secretary-General to ensure effective inter-mission cooperation;
                    13. Underlines that a continued strategic and political partnership between the
               United Nations and the African Union in Sudan remains critical, including through
               UNAMID, supports the African Union Peace and Security Council’s call for the
               Government of Sudan to urgently identify areas in which the African Union could
               provide additional assistance and encourages UNITAMS, UNAMID and the African
               Union to ensure coherence, coordination and complementarity of their support Sudan,
               including through a United Nations-African Union senior level coordination
               mechanism;
                     14. Requests the Secretary-General to continue transition planning and
               management in accordance with the established policies, directives and best practices
               in order to ensure that the eventual transition to UNITAMS from UNAMID is phased,
               sequenced and efficient, and further requests, in this regard, that UNITAMS and
               UNAMID establish a coordination mechanism to determine the modalities and
               timelines for the transition of responsibilities where the two missions have common
               strategic objectives and priorities in Darfur and in order to ensure close coordination
               and cooperation, information and analysis sharing, to maximise synergies, leverage
               resources and prevent the duplication of efforts;
                     15. Underscores that the modalities and timeline for the transition of
               responsibility to UNITAMS from UNAMID of responsibility for unarmed civilian
               protection activities, such as those outlined in strategic objective 2(iii), to UNITAMS
               from UNAMID will be determined by the UNITAMS-UNAMID transition
               coordination mechanism, as appropriate and in line with paragraph 14 of this
               resolution;
                     16. Requests the Secretary-General to report to the Security Council every
               90 days on the implementation of the UNITAMS mandate and on clear and
               measurable core and contextual benchmarks and indicators, to be provided to the
               Security Council in the first 90 day report, to track UNITAMS’ progress a gainst its
               strategic objectives and to enable early planning for a future reconfiguration of the
               United Nations presence in Sudan;
                    17.   Decides to remain actively seized of the matter.



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