Enter The United Nations

Enter The United Nations

Unlike the previous two transitional periods that followed popular uprisings in 1964 and 1985 the current one of the post defunct Ingaz regime have an ambitious plan: to lay foundations for a sustainable, peaceful country, willing and able to go through a democratic transformation. In short use the uncharacteristically long 3-year transition period to put a solid foundation for a nation-building.

And for that it went looking for help as far as inviting the UN to extend a helping hand for the uphill battle ahead.

It took three months of talks and negotiations and in the end the UNSC issued unanimously its resolution to grant Sudan what it asked for with a caveat, in a separate resolution, that the presence of the world body in Darfur in form of the UNAMID be extended to end of December, instead of their original exit date by end of this month.

The mere fact that the UNAMID presence was under chapter seven, continue to keep the debate alive about whether Sudan will actually own the operation and decides on its termination when it sees fit. There is no clear item in the resolution makes ultimate interpreter of the life time of the new mission to Sudan, called UN Integrated Transition Assistance Mission in Sudan (UNITAMS). At the same time some critics point to the possibility that the resolution calls for coordination between the UNITAMS and various UN presence in Darfur, Abyei, South Sudan and Libya. Some are under chapter seven and some are not, but it gives a strong sense of regionalization, if not internationalization of Sudan case.

However, UNITAMS will have a huge portfolio to support the transitional period from providing technical assistance to the constitution drafting process, supporting implementation of all human rights, equality, accountability and rule-of-law.

Also as part of its strategic objectives, UNITAMS will provide good offices for peace negotiations, and if requested, scalable support for the implementation of any future peace agreements, and for the monitoring and verification of possible ceasefires, with particular focus on Blue Nile and South Kordofan (the Two Areas) and Darfur.

The mere fact that a mission with a Special Representative for the Secretary General (SRSG) shows the desire to cut through the UN bureaucratic red tape and enhance its efforts to mobilize human and financial resources, but aside from this procedural aspect, the most important political dimension remain shrouded into question marks and whether the UNITAMS mission will be able to deliver.

The first thing to note is that the current political scene in Sudan was going through a difficult time of divisions and fragmentation to the extent that the Umma Party has announced its decision to freeze its membership in the Forces of Freedom and Change (FFC), unless it undergoes a structural reform. The same was echoed by the Congress Party, while the Professionals Association was facing accusations that its newly elected secretariat has a lot to answer for.

Another thorny issue relates to peace. Though talks have been going on in Juba for months now and has been extended three times though the original Constitutional Documents put a 6-month time frame to achieve peace, but it is not guaranteed that the new deadline later this month will be met.

Yet even if that happens those talking in Juba miss two important factions: the SPLM-N-Alhilu and that of Abdel Wahid Nur. The first came to a complete halt following a brief initial exploratory engagements, while that of Abdel Wahid refused along his well-established position of not engaging in any peace talks.

That is a thorny and complicated situation the SRSG will face heads on and will need some distinguished diplomatic skills to handle. And that is why the choice of that SRSG is of paramount importance in view of the lack of any meaningful leverage the UNITAMS can rely on and use to carry out its mission successfully.

Experiences and the track record of UN missions in Sudan and the region don’t augur well especially in areas of restoring peace. The UNAMID performance in Darfur has at best a mixed record though it was carried under the famous chapter seven and the UN mission in nearby Libya is giving up.

So it seems the most important factor will be the personality of the yet to be picked SRSG and his ability to navigate through complex issues, making use of weak and divided political forces, while keeping foreign intervention at bay.

 

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SS/AS

Sudanow is the longest serving English speaking magazine in the Sudan. It is chartarized by its high quality professional journalism, focusing on political, social, economic, cultural and sport developments in the Sudan. Sudanow provides in depth analysis of these developments by academia, highly ...

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