Sudan
In January members will hold informal consultations to discuss the Secretary-General’s report on the UN Mission in Sudan (UNMIS) which should provide an update on the overall situation of the country. Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations Alain Le Roy may brief the Council on the situation of UN peacekeeping in Sudan. Some Council response to the risks facing South Sudan is possible. No action on Darfur is expected until February when the Secretary-General’s report on the AU-UN Hybrid Operation in Darfur (UNAMID) is expected.
The mandates of UNMIS and UNAMID expire 30 April and 31 July, respectively.
Key Recent Developments
Tension continues between Khartoum’s ruling National Congress Party (NCP) and the southern-based Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM) as the 2010 national elections approach. The stakes are high because of the 2011 referendum on self-determination for South Sudan.
In December 2009 demonstrators took to the streets of Khartoum and other cities, leading to the arrest of some key SPLM political leaders on 6 December and leaders from the opposition Umma party on 14 December. Riot police used tear gas to break up the demonstrations in Khartoum.
On 17 December 2009 the government said it would prevent any attempts to stage more demonstrations. It maintained that the conditions in the country were not suitable for such expression.
On 13 December 2009 the Sudanese cabinet approved the draft bill of the South Sudan Referendum, the Abyei Referendum and the Act of People’s Consultation in South Kordofan and the Blue Nile. The parliament approved the bill on 22 December. SPLM parliamentarians returned after a two-month boycott of the national assembly. Under the bill, a declaration of independence by South Sudan would require a 60 percent turnout of registered voters and a 51 percent vote in favour of the referendum. Initially, the NCP had argued for a vote in favour of between 75 and 90 percent and a two-thirds turnout.
On 7 December, the National Elections Commission completed voter registration for the 2010 national elections. More than 15 million voters (over 75 percent of the estimated voting-age population) are reported to have been registered throughout the country.
In Darfur, however, access was not gained to all camps for displaced persons, including the large camps in Kass and Kalma in south Darfur. Moreover, as noted by the Atlanta-based Carter Center, proof of residency documents appeared weak, creating bias in the process of identifying some registrants. Many rural areas did not receive adequate information on voter registration from mobile voter registration teams.
In South Sudan significant intertribal violence has resulted in large numbers of civilians killed. A report by the International Crisis Group on 23 December 2009 warned that this increasingly politicised intertribal violence risked further destabilising South Sudan ahead of the national elections and the referendum.
In his October 2009 report the Secretary-General addressed the situation in South Sudan, in particular the parties’ lack of commitment to the implementation of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA). He urged the NCP and SPLM to:
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provide political space during the conduct of the upcoming elections;
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finalise post-referendum arrangements;
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sustain political will by improving security in the three areas including Southern Kordofan, Blue Nile and Abyei;
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increase the capacity of South Sudan to deliver basic services and manage conflict; and
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improve judicial and penal systems to support the establishment of rule of law.
His upcoming report on these elements will be significant.
On 21 December 2009, former South African President Thabo Mbeki and the AU Commission Chairperson Jean Ping briefed the Council on the recommendations of the AU High-Level Panel on Darfur, headed by Mbeki. Members of the Council welcomed the report in a press statement and called on the Sudanese government and other parties in Sudan and the region to support the report’s recommendations.
On 4 December 2009, the Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC), Luis Moreno-Ocampo, briefed the Council and stated that rape, indiscriminate bombings and other crimes against civilians continue in Darfur. He noted that the government of Sudan still refuses to cooperate with his office. (On 4 March 2009 the ICC issued an arrest warrant for Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity in Darfur.)
On 7 December 2009, Council members condemned the attacks on UNAMID peacekeepers in Darfur on 4 and 5 December, which resulted in the death of five Rwandan soldiers. The UNAMID convoy was escorting a water tanker in north Darfur when it was ambushed by unidentified armed militias.
Also in Darfur on 13 December 2009, two civilian UNAMID peacekeepers, held for more than one hundred days by kidnappers, were freed following a personal request for help made by the Secretary-General in a phone conversation with Sudan’s president on 7 December 2009.
On 2 December 2009, the Secretary-General appointed Ibrahim Gambari of Nigeria as the new head of UNAMID. He replaces Congolese diplomat Rodolphe Adada, who stepped down in August.
Human Rights-Related Developments
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A statement at the Security Council made on behalf of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay, on 11 November 2009 expressed concern about the situation in Darfur. She said the human rights of internally displaced persons, human rights defenders and humanitarian workers continue to be violated. The statement also said Darfur exemplified situations in which, despite robust mandates, there were political, structural, operational and resource issues that limited the effectiveness of UN peacekeeping missions. In her view, the situation necessitates “the employment of a broader human rights approach with a focus on the entire spectrum of rights beyond physical protection.” (S/PV.6216) The Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict, Radhika Coomaraswamy, visited Sudan in November 2009. Following her visit, she said Sudan’s Ministry of Justice assured her that children in Sudan would not be executed for crimes carrying the death penalty. She also called upon the Sudanese government to adopt a comprehensive national strategy to combat gender-based violence that included prevention, accountability and response. On 21 December 2009, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights released a report on attacks in southern Sudan by the Ugandan rebel group, the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA). It said the LRA was responsible for killing civilians, rape, abducting adults and children, recruiting and using child soldiers and forcing children to work as sex slaves, porters and spies. The report concluded that the “evidence suggests that the LRA attacks may amount to crimes against humanity” under the Rome Statute of the ICC. |
Key Issues
A key issue is whether the Council should now become engaged in the detailed implementation of the CPA, including reforms necessary to allow space for political parties to voice their opinions. A related issue is whether the Council should simply urge the parties to work toward overcoming obstacles or whether to be more active.
A second issue is security and conflict management in South Sudan and the three areas along the north-south border specified by the CPA (Abyei, Blue Nile and South Kordofan). A related issue is how the Council, UNMIS and the donor community can help to deal with the growing insecurity by building the capacity of law enforcement while at the same time improving the rule of law in these regions.
Options
Options for the Council may include:
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simply urging the parties to increase dialogue and improve relations in support of the CPA;
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addressing the need for legislative reforms to open political space in advance of the elections; and
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addressing the growing security risks likely to result from poor implementation of the rule of law by both the national authorities in general and by the SPLM in addressing issues in the south.
Council Dynamics
On 31 December 2009 five elected members leave the Council, including Libya which played a very significant role in discussions on Sudan. It seems likely that Nigeria, which becomes its successor in January, will also play a significant but somewhat different role. Its focus seems likely to be less on the immediate politics of the subregion and more influenced by its wider regional and global interests, including as a key troop-contributor to UNAMID.
Most Council members seem increasingly focused on the 2010 elections and 2011 referendum and the support from the international community that will be necessary, along with stronger commitment by the parties.
The UK is the lead country on Darfur in the Council. The US is the lead country on the north-south Sudan peace process.
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Selected Security Council Resolutions |
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Selected Presidential Statement |
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Latest Secretary-General’s Reports |
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Selected Security Council Meeting Records |
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Selected Letters |
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Other |
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UNAMID: Joint AU-UN Special Representative for Darfur |
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Ibrahim Gambari (Nigeria) |
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Joint AU-UN Chief Mediator |
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Djibril Yipènè Bassolé (Burkina Faso) |
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UNAMID: Force Commander |
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Lieutenant General Patrick Nyamvumba (Rwanda) (as of 1 September) |
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UNAMID: Size, Composition and Cost |
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UNAMID: Duration |
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31 July 2007 to present; mandate expires 31 July 2010 |
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UNMIS: Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Head of Mission |
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Ashraf Jehangir Qazi (Pakistan) |
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UNMIS: Size, Composition and Cost |
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UNMIS: Duration |
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24 March 2005 to present; mandate expires 30 April 2010 |
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Sanctions Committee Chairman |
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Thomas Mayr-Harting (Austria) |
Useful Additional Resources
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Jonglei’s Tribal Conflicts: Countering Insecurity in South Sudan, International Crisis Group, 23 December 2009
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Carter Center Commends Broad Participation in Sudan’s Registration, Urges Additional Steps to Ensure Genuine Elections, The Carter Center, 17 December 2009
