Sudan discusses UNAMID exit with UNSC permanent members envoys

October 14, 2015 (KHARTOUM) – Sudan’s under-secretary of foreign ministry, Abdel-Ghani Al-Naeim, Wednesday has discussed with envoys of the permanent members of the UN Security Council the exit strategy for the hybrid peacekeeping mission in Darfur (UNAMID).

Foreign ministry spokesperson, Ali al-Sadig, said in a press release that Al-Naeim discussed with ambassadors of the United Kingdom, China, United States, Russia and France to Khartoum ways for addressing administrative obstacles to UNAMID’s exit from Sudan particularly with regard to customs clearance of the backlog of containers of food and medical materials at Port Sudan.

According to the press release, the under-secretary proposed to the meeting that UNAMID should purchase some of its needs from the local market instead of Australia, Brazil and Argentina, stressing that the mission’s exit would be executed in accordance with the recommendation of the tripartite committee.

A tripartite committee including the Sudanese government, AU and UN has been set up last February to develop an exit strategy for the UNAMID from Darfur.

The committee was expected to sign a agreement last May. But in June, Sudanese officials said that the UN retracted from an agreement reached by the joint team on an exit strategy.

In a meeting held in New York last Sunday the committees’ three parties decided that the tripartite team determines the date of its next meeting which is expected to convene early in November in Khartoum.

The mission has been deployed in Darfur since 2007 with a mandate to stem violence against civilians in the restive region.

It is the world’s second largest international peacekeeping force with an annual budget of $1.35 billion and almost 20,000 troops.

UN agencies say there are nearly 2.5 million displaced persons in Darfur, despite the signing of peace agreement in Doha in July 2011.

(ST)