Sudan allows UNAMID to use airports

January 20, 2009 (ADDIS ABABA) — Sudan government and the African Union UN Mission for Darfur (UNAMID) signed last Sunday an agreement allowing the hybrid peacekeeping force to use Sudan airports.

The agreement was signed at the end of the third meeting of the Tripartite coordinating mechanism on UNAMID attended by the African Union Commission, the United Nations and the Government of Sudan at African Union headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

The signing of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on air operations was means to enable UNAMID to make a more effective use of Sudanese airport infrastructure in order to speed up the deployment process.

In August 2008, Sudanese government gave UNAMID the green light to conduct its night fights in Darfur enabling the operation to reach the vital 24-hour capability of flight. Sudan justified its past rejection saying the airports are not properly lighted.

However, in Sunday deal, the UNAMID will conduct some works to improve the performances of the airports used by the peacekeeping mission.

UN Under-Secretary- General for Department of Field Support, Susana Malcorra, also confirmed during the tripartite meeting that UNAMID had successfully achieved a 60% deployment of troops by the end of December 2008, a figure which gives rise to the hope that a dynamic of enhancing UNAMID effectiveness is well underway.

The establishment of the tripartite mechanism has been decided on by the three Parties following consultations on the sidelines of the AU last summit in Sharm el Sheik, Egypt, to review deployment of the hybrid force, and to find practical solutions to the challenges facing the operation.

First and second tripartite meetings have been held respectively in October and November 2008 in Khartoum, Sudan.

(ST)