Sudan accepts nomination of Ghanaian diplomat as UNAMID chief – FM says
December 5, 2012 (KHARTOUM) – The Sudanese government accepts the nomination of the veteran Ghanaian diplomat Mohamed Ibn Chambas as the new special joint representative of the UN-AU mission in Darfur (UNAMID) to succeed Ibrahim Gambari at the helm of the world’s largest peacekeeping operation, the country’s foreign minister has announced.
The meeting discussed the situation of UNAMID and its performance in the previous period as well as the implementation of the Doha Document for Peace in Darfur (DDPD) which was signed with the former rebel Liberation and Justice Movement (LJM) in mid-July 2011 in an effort to end the eight-year conflict in the region.
The meeting also discussed coordination between the mission and various state organs through the ministry of foreign affairs in order to enable UNAMID to perform its operations in the required way, as reported by Sudan’s official news agency SUNA.
Former UNAMID chief Ibrahim Gambari, a Nigerian, resigned from his position less than two years from assuming it in January 2011 amid reports that he has been constantly subjected to international pressure and criticism from the government and rebel groups against perceptions of the mission’s weak performance as well as his performance of the role of a mediator in the conflict.
His successor, Mohamed Ibn Chambas, is a veteran diplomat and lawyer from Ghana. He previously served as an executive secretary of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). He also acted as a mediator in a number of African conflicts including the Liberian war of 1990 and the conflict in Côte d’Ivoire in 2000.
(ST)