The UN Security Council Tuesday decided to extend, for six months, mandates of the United Nations Interim Security Force for Abyei (UNISFA) relating to the delivery of humanitarian assistance and the protection of civilians, among others, while also underlining that its tasks relating to the contested region’s Joint Border Verification and Monitoring Mechanism would be extended no further unless the parties to the dispute accelerated progress in several key areas.
Unanimously adopting resolution 2416 (2018) under Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter, the Council also decided to extend, until 15 November 2018, the mandate of UNISFA as set out in operative paragraph 2 of resolution 1990 (2011).
The text calls on the Force to participate in relevant Abyei Area bodies as stipulated in the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement between Sudan and South Sudan.
Also mandated by that paragraph are UNISFA’s tasks related to providing demining assistance; facilitating the delivery of humanitarian aid and the free movement of humanitarian personnel; strengthening the capacity of the Abyei Police Service; and providing security for oil infrastructure, as needed.
Also by the terms of the resolution just adopted, the Council extended various tasks laid out in operative paragraph 3 of resolution 1990 (2011) until 15 November 2018. They related to the protection of UNISFA personnel, facilities, installations and equipment, as well as ensuring the security and freedom of movement of its staff, humanitarian personnel and members of the Joint Military Observers Committee and Joint Military Observer teams.
Tasks involving the protection of civilians from imminent threats of violence — and of the Abyei Area from incursions by unauthorized elements — were also extended.
By other terms, the Council recalled its decision to extend, until 15 October 2018, UNISFA’s mandate modification set forth in resolution 2024 (2011) and operative paragraph 1 of resolution 2075 (2012) — relating to the Force’s support for the Joint Border Verification and Monitoring Mechanism — as well as its decision in resolution 2412 (2018) that the extension would be the last one unless both parties demonstrated measurable progress on border demarcation. It also decided to reduce UNISFA’s authorized troop ceiling to 4,500 until 15 November 2018, and that — as of 15 October 2018 — that ceiling would decrease further to 3,959, unless the aforementioned mandate modifications were extended.
The Council urged continued progress towards the establishment of the Abyei Area interim institutions.
Following the vote, Sudan’s representative said the security situation in Abyei described in the report was the result of the joint efforts of his country’s government and UNISFA.
He emphasized the obligation of States not to take ill‑calculated actions until the final status of Abyei was determined. He also stressed that his country’s government was committed to fully respect all agreements concluded with the Government of South Sudan, in particular those relating to the Abyei Area, and urged that country to work with the Government of Sudan and the African Union to accelerate the creation of Abyei institutions, in particular its joint administration, legislative council and police.
He went on to urge respect for the peaceful coexistence among the area’s communities, and stressed the need to consider the question of Abyei in the wider context of relations between the two countries, and implementation of the provisional arrangements for the administration of Abyei.
However, he expressed reservations concerning the High‑level Implementation Panel of the African Union.