AFRICAN UNION-UN FORCE HOSTS ROUND-TABLE TALKS ON DARFUR PEACE PROCESS

The joint African Union-United Nations peacekeeping operation in Darfur (UNAMID) convened a round-table discussion with the signatories to the 2006 pact that aims to bring peace to the Sudanese region.

In yesterday's talks, Rodolphe Adada, the Joint AU-UN Special Representative and head of the mission, urged all parties to support the ongoing peace process "because that is the only way to go in order to give a new lease of life to the [Darfur Peace Agreement] and, by extension, to the people of Darfur."

Some 300,000 people have been killed and an estimated 2.7 million others displaced from their homes in Darfur since fighting erupted in 2003, pitting Government forces and allied Janjaweed militiamen against rebel groups.

Mr. Adada yesterday hailed the signatories and participants of the Darfur Peace Agreement for their commitment to dialogue, peace, reconciliation and development since the pact was signed in 2006 between the Government of Sudan and rebel groups in Abuja, Nigeria.

"Those who embraced peace deserve to reap its dividends," he said.

The pact, he said, paved the way for the deployment of UNAMID, which has achieved success in protecting civilians and supporting aid agencies as they deliver humanitarian assistance, among others.

Participants, including representatives from the Government and groups such as the SLM Free Will and Popular Forces for Rights and Democracy, agreed that while progress has been made, more remains to be done in implementing the pact. They also called on the international community to play a more active role.
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UN FORCE COMMANDER BRIEFS PRIME MINISTER-DESIGNATE ON SOUTHERN LEBANON

The head of the United Nations peacekeeping force in Lebanon and Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri today discussed the security situation in the country's south, and developments relating to the Security Council resolution that helped to end the 2006 war between Israel and Hizbollah.

"I informed the Prime Minister-designate that we consider the security situation in south Lebanon as generally quiet and the parties reiterated their commitment to resolution 1701 and to upholding the cessation of hostilities," Force Commander Major-General Claudio Graziano said in a statement following the meeting.

Resolution 1701 calls for, among other things, renewed respect for the Blue Line separating the Lebanese forces and Israeli Defense Forces (IDF), the disarming of militias and an end to arms smuggling.

Among the tasks entrusted to the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) is monitoring the cessation of hostilities; accompanying and supporting the Lebanese Armed Forces as they deploy throughout the south; and extending assistance to help ensure humanitarian access to civilian populations and the voluntary and safe return of displaced persons.

"I stressed to Mr. Hariri the importance of the good cooperation we have with the Lebanese Armed Forces and the necessity of continued support of the Government of Lebanon for our joint endeavour towards implementation of resolution 1701," said Maj.-Gen. Graziano.

Following his meeting with Mr. Hariri last week, the top UN envoy for Lebanon said he hopes that the country's new Government, when formed, will renew its commitment to, and fully carry out, resolution 1701.

Michael Williams, the UN Special Coordinator for Lebanon, noted areas of progress in this regard, including the ongoing process of demarcating the Blue Line and last year's exchange of prisoners and remains between Hizbollah and Israel. But he added that the overall objectives of resolution 1701 – a permanent ceasefire and lasting solution – are yet to be achieved.

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JORDANIAN POLICE UNIT BOOSTS PRESENCE OF UN-AFRICAN UNION FORCE IN DARFUR

An advance party of Jordanian police officers arrived in Darfur today ahead of a larger deployment due later this month to strengthen the efforts of the joint United Nations-African Union (AU) peacekeeping force in the strife-torn Sudanese region.

The 46 members of the Jordanian formed police unit (FPU) will be responsible for setting up equipment and accommodation in preparation for the remaining 280 personnel scheduled to arrive on 28 August.

The entire unit will be divided into two and deployed to El Fasher and Kabkabiya in North Darfur state.

FPUs are comprised of police officers who have received specialized training in high-risk operations. Their main task is the protection of civilians, including through conducting community policing, especially in camps housing internally displaced persons (IDPs).

They also assist UN agencies in the delivery of humanitarian aid in Darfur, where some 2.7 million people have been displaced from their homes over the course of six years of conflict pitting Government forces and allied Janjaweed militiamen against rebel groups.

UNAMID expects to have 19 FPUs once it reaches full strength. Jordan is the fifth country to contribute a unit, following Bangladesh, Indonesia, Nepal and Nigeria. The force is expecting the arrival of a Senegalese FPU later this month.

Established by the Security Council in 2007, the mission is expected to have a total of 26,000 military and police personnel at full deployment.
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MILITARY CHIEFS OF UN PEACEKEEPING FORCES IN AFRICA CALL FOR MORE TROOPS, EQUIPMENT

The military chiefs of the United Nations' largest and most complex peacekeeping operations urged Member States today to provide the troops and equipment necessary to carry out their missions in the war-ravaged regions of Darfur in western Sudan and eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).

"We have had a challenging time to meet all our mandated tasks because of the issue of deployment and lack of capabilities," General Martin Luther Agwai, Force Commander of the joint African Union-UN mission in Darfur (UNAMID), told reporters in New York.

The Security Council authorized the deployment of UNAMID to quell fighting and protect civilians in Darfur, where an estimated 300,000 people have been killed and some 2.7 million others forced from their homes since fighting erupted in 2003, pitting Government forces and allied Janjaweed militiamen against rebel groups.

UNAMID has stabilized the situation in Darfur, despite having less than 70 per cent of the authorized number of troops under the 2007 Security Council resolution setting up the force, said Gen. Agwai.

In addition, "we have been able to be one of the best sources of authenticated information of what is happening in Darfur," he said. "We have come a long way, but there are still a lot of challenges, no doubt about it."

At current strength UNAMID is unable to provide full-time security to all of the makeshift camps sheltering the millions of people who have fled the violence engulfing the region over the years.

"We have not been able to have a 24/7 protection coverage in most of the IDP [internally displaced persons] camps," said Gen. Agwai. "We have prioritized the most vulnerable and volatile camps."

He noted that some of the IDP camps have 90,000 to 100,000 people taking refuge in tents and makeshift shelters.

"The bigger the camps the more volatile and problematic they are and those are the ones with a 24/7 UNAMID presence," he said, including patrols that protect women when out collecting firewood.

With full deployment the mission would be more mobile and have a further reach, "instead of [looking like] very small ink spots on blotting paper. [We currently have] 32 spots, but we're beginning to expand and spread."

Gen. Agwai expected 92 per cent deployment by the end of the year, but stressed that there is little "point having boots without capabilities. Ethiopia has now pledged five [attack] helicopters to the mission … [but] to the best of my knowledge nobody has pledged one utility helicopter to the mission."

As a sign of UNAMID contributing to an increasing sense of security in the region, Gen. Agwai said that the incidence of rapes and assaults has been cut. "The number of people dying because of the crisis is down. The figure is now ranging from about 120 to 150 deaths in a month and not hundreds or thousands in a month as in the past."

The UN peacekeeping mission in DRC, known as MONUC, is effectively engaged in three separate military operations, said the operations Force Commander, Lieutenant-General Babacar Gaye.

MONUC is supporting the Congolese army (FARDC) in an offensive against the notorious Ugandan rebel militia, the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) on one front; a group of remnant armed groups in Ituri province in northeastern DRC; and a Rwandan rebel force, known as the FDLR, in North and South Kivu.

"Our mission is so far the largest peacekeeping mission deployed around the world and we are facing all the challenges that peacekeeping have to face today," Lt.-Gen. Gaye told the press briefing. "This means the use of force, the protection of civilians and so on and so forth."

The latest bout of fighting between DRC troops and the rebel FDLR (Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda) and their local allies uprooted a further 35,000 people in South Kivu last month, bringing the total displaced there since January to 536,000, according to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). More than 1.8 million people are now internally displaced in the DRC's east.

Lt.-Gen. Gaye stressed the drastic need for extra troops on the ground to implement MONUC's protection mandate. "Everything is on track but unfortunately the first boots are still expected."

He said that MONUC is slated to soon receive a Bangladeshi battalion, an Egyptian battalion, a Jordanian special force company, an Egyptian special force company and a Bangladeshi engineer company.

"Unfortunately, we are yet to have the 18 helicopters that have been authorized by the [Security] Council," he added.
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FUNDING HURDLES THWART EXPANSION OF AU PEACEKEEPING CAPABILITIES – BAN

FUNDING HURDLES THWART EXPANSION OF AU PEACEKEEPING CAPABILITIES – BAN
New York, Mar 18 2009 5:00PM

Difficulties in securing necessary funding are impeding the ability of the African Union (AU) to maintain and expand its peacekeeping capacities, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon cautioned today.

"A peacekeeping mission that is under-resourced can imperil the initial benefits gained through its deployment, and can raise expectations without providing the means of fulfilling them," he told the Security Council.

The 15-member body met today to discuss how to bolster the UN-AU relationship and on how better to support the peacekeeping capacity of the AU, which has troops in areas such as Somalia.

The Council was also briefed by former Italian President Romano Prodi, who heads a panel to support AU peacekeeping operations established under a UN mandate.

Mr. Prodi presented a report which offered recommendations on how to boost the AU's "ability to respond to crises and in its need for a capacity that is capable of promoting long-term stability on the continent."

The publication further stressed the need for a "more effective strategic relationship" between the Security Council and the AU Peace and Security Council, as well as between the UN Secretariat and the AU Commission.

"A shared strategic vision is essential if the United Nations and the African Union are to exercise their respective advantages: the African Union's ability to provide a rapid response and the United Nations capacity for sustained operations," the report said.

The ties between the UN and the AU have been expanded but have "yet to develop the responsiveness that will enable us to work together and to prevent conflicts rather than only respond to crises," the Secretary-General said at today's meeting, which will hear from dozens of speakers.

The suggestions provided by the panel headed by Mr. Prodi are a first step, Mr. Ban said, towards developing a more effective partnership – which "has the potential to affect millions of people on the African continent" – between the two organizations.
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