Closure of UNMIS

UNMIS wound up its operations on 9 July 2011 with the completion of the interim period agreed on by the Government of Sudan and Sudan People’s Liberation Movement in the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA), signed on 9 January 2005.

The mission ended its six years of mandated operations the same day South Sudan declared independence, following a CPA-provided referendum on 9 January 2011 that voted overwhelmingly in favour of secession.

In support of the new nation, the Security Council established a successor mission to UNMIS – the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) – on 9 July for an initial period of one year, with the intention to renew for further periods as required.

UNMIS 17th Sector Commanders’ Conference concludes in Wau

23 Sep 2009

UNMIS 17th Sector Commanders’ Conference concludes in Wau

The military sector commanders of the United Nations Mission in Sudan (UNMIS) held their 17^th conference at Sector II headquarters in the Western Bahr El-Ghazal State capital of Wau on 16 and 17 September.

The Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Sudan Ashraf Qazi and the UNMIS Regional Coordinator for Southern Sudan David Gressly also attended the two-day conference, and the assembled commanders evaluated the performance of the peacekeeping mission's military contingents in their ongoing efforts to support implementation of the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA).

The most crucial topic for discussion was the escalating violence in parts of Southern Sudan, and other top agenda items included border demarcation and a pending referendum bill in the National Assembly that is under discussion by representatives of the two main signatories of the CPA, the National Congress Party and the Sudan People's Liberation Movement.

"We are here to discuss issues related to the mission," said UNMIS Force Commander Major-General Paban Jung Thapa. "And as military, we are able to form our task and move forward, taking into consideration upcoming challenges, especially the important benchmarks that are pending."

Addressing insecurity in Southern Sudan, the force commander identified a gun culture as a continuing problem and called on the autonomous Government of Southern Sudan to seek a greater commitment to peace and development from the general population in the region.

Gen. Thapa thanked the peacekeepers in Sudan for their dedication and urged Sudanese citizens to resolve their differences through discussion and reconciliation procedures instead of taking up guns against each other.

"We encourage the two parties to be more proactive and resolve their differences peacefully," he said, adding that peace and stability are the only options for Sudan as a country with so much potential.

The SRSG hailed the sector commanders' conference as "a very useful exercise which reviewed the mission's status in supporting the parties implementing the CPA."

Mr. Qazi told the conference that UNMIS is working closely with the two CPA signatory parties in preparations for next April's national election in order to ensure that procurement, voter registration and the balloting itself take place on schedule.

"We are here to keep peace through the ceasefire mechanism, to encourage political reconciliation and to assist in humanitarian recovery and development," he said, emphasizing the role of UNMIS in providing technical and logistical support to the upcoming elections.