UNAMID chief to discuss Darfur elections with Carter and Kufuor
April 8, 2010 (KHARTOUM) — The head of the hybrid peacekeeping mission in Darfur, Ibrahim Gambari is expected to meet on Friday with the visiting former presidents of the USA and Ghana to discuss the ongoing preparation of Sunday elections in Sudan and Darfur particularly.
UNAMID is mandated to assist and complement UNMIS efforts in the three Darfur states that constitute its mandated Area of Responsibility. UNMIS has been given the lead for the UN support to the electoral process by providing technical assistance and limited logistical support.
Speaking about UNAMID role in the elections, the official spokesperson of the peacekeeping operation, Noureddine Mezni, said the Mission provided logistical support.
The hybrid mission “is assisting the National Election Commission (NEC) in transporting electoral materials to more than 30 remote locations,” he told Sudan Tribune; adding the UNAMID police have trained more than ten thousands (10000) Sudanese police to ensure security during the elections.
The mission also contributed to the registration process which was conducted in November and December 2009, where some 2.4 million people in the three states of Darfur (nearly 67.5 percent of the estimated voting-age population), registered to vote.
Noureddine said that a relatively small number of the estimated 2.7 million IDPs in Darfur were registered. “This was a result of boycotts by IDPs in several camps, as well as security concerns which prevented the NEC from opening registration centers in some IDP camps.” In addition, inhabitants of rebel-held areas in Darfur were not included in the census and registration process.
However he stressed they do not have the “full information on IDP registrations”.
The elections are an important step for the population of Darfur to influence future decision-making, he said. “But the root causes of the conflict need to be addressed through a comprehensive peace agreement, taking into account the interests of vulnerable populations (in IDP camps and rebel-held areas) who will not be represented in the elections,” he emphasized.
Darfur, a region roughly the size of Spain, has been torn by war since 2003, resulting in the deaths of an estimated 300,000 people and the displacement of 2.7 million others.
In New York, Gambari had conducted a series of consultations to mobilize additional support for his Mission. In this context, he introduced to ACABQ (administrative and budget advisory body) , UNAMID new proposed budget for 2010-2011 of 1,9 billion US Dollars, the current budget is of 1.6 billion USD .If this budget is approved, UNAMID would become, not only the largest Peace Keeping Operation in the history of United Nations but also the most expensive one.
He also met with the Friends of UNAMID in the UNHQ. The meeting was co-chaired by the US and the Canadian ambassadors in presence of 17 ambassadors whose counties are providing different kind of support to the joint operation in Darfur.
(ST)