European, Canadian teams on tour with UNAMID staff
October 21, 2008 (EL FASHER) – The African Union-United Nations hybrid peacekeeping mission in Darfur (UNAMID) is hosting a number of foreign delegations from Europe and Canada.
The peacekeeping mission, tasked primarily with protecting humanitarian workers and displaced civilians, is the result of an international diplomatic effort that pushed a resolution through the United Nations Security Council. UNAMID succeeded the previous African Union peacekeeping mission (AMIS) on Dec. 31, 2007.
The Dutch Ambassador for Human Rights Arjan Hamburger is currently in Sudan and met with UNAMID Joint Special Representative Rodolphe Adada and other senior mission officials, UNAMID reported on Monday.
Hamburger took his position as ambassador on Sept. 3, 2007. His role is to strengthen the human rights components of Dutch foreign policy and make it more coherent.
A Canadian police team visited UNAMID as well on Monday, meeting with Elizabeth Muwanga, deputy police commissioner, policy & planning. Muwanga briefed the Canadian police on the UNAMID police deployment status and operational priorities.
The four-man Canadian Police reconnaissance team is led by Walter Boogaard and is scheduled to visit Nyala and El Geneina, the capitals of South and West Darfur states. The purpose of the visit is to assess the security situation as well as the functions of UNAMID police, according to a spokesman.
Similarly, military and police officials representing the United Kingdom arrived in Darfur on Saturday for a one-week visit. Lt. Col. Slinger and Chris Sharwood-Smith, United Nations police training coordinator, conducted interviews with UNAMID police advisers and Formed Police Units (FPUs) officers on their pre-deployment training. Both men are from the United Kingdom Permanent Mission in New York.
They also visited the Abu Shouk internally displaced persons (IDPs) camp in Sector North, accompanied by Sector North Police Commander Lt. Col. John Gachomo, and the Indonesian Formed Police Unit Commander, Lt Col Johni Asadoma. They too will visit Nyala and El Geneina.
(ST)