FIRST BATCH OF INFANTRY TROOPS FROM BURKINA FASO JOIN AFRICAN-UN FORCE IN DARFUR

New York, Aug 4 2009 1:00PM
The first infantry soldiers from Burkina Faso arrived today in Darfur to serve with the joint African Union-United Nations peacekeeping mission to the troubled Sudanese region, as more blue helmets from three other countries prepare to join the force soon as well.

An advance party of 134 soldiers arrived in Nyala, the capital of South Darfur state, with another 133 scheduled to arrive next Tuesday, according to the mission (known as <"http://unamid.unmissions.org/Default.aspx?tabid=888&ctl=Details&mid=1062&ItemID=5043">UNAMID). The remaining members of the infantry battalion – totalling more than 800 soldiers – are expected to be deployed by mid-September in El Geneina and Foro Baranga in West Darfur state.

Today's arrival means UNAMID now has 13,651 military personnel deployed across the region, or nearly 70 per cent of the authorized number of staff under the 2007 Security Council resolution setting up the force.

The mission also reported today that more troops from Ethiopia, Tanzania and Egypt are expected to be deployed in Darfur later this month, further boosting its strength.

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

AFRICAN UNION-UN PEACEKEEPERS IN DARFUR PRESENT FUNDING FOR CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS

The African Union-United Nations peacekeeping operation in Darfur has provided a financial boost of almost $250,000 for the construction of classrooms, toilets and water pumps in the violence-ridden region of Sudan.

Henry Anyidoho, Deputy Joint Special Representative of the AU-UN mission (UNAMID), presented the Quick Impact Projects (QIPs) funding, which will also cover the construction of an x-ray wing for a local hospital, to non-governmental organizations (NGOs) yesterday on his visit to South Darfur.

The visit took in the Kalma camp for internally displaced persons (IDPs), where a school has been built with the QIPs funding.

Mr. Anyidoho inspected progress on work carried out by the UNAMID Chinese engineering company – including the construction of two water dams – following recent heavy flooding in the makeshift camp.

At the IDP camp, he met with sheikhs and other traditional leaders to discuss the living conditions and heard complaints over the absence of basic necessities for survival, such as food and water, amenities and social services.

The camp leaders also raised concerns over the ongoing operation of armed militias in the area, land occupation, guarantees of collective and individual compensation for IDPs and bringing to justice those accused of war crimes among other issues.

Meanwhile, UNAMID has reported that the security situation in Darfur is relatively calm except for some minor banditry and car-jacking in North Darfur.

The mission was also informed yesterday that chief Umda of Abu Shouk IDP camp and his wife had been shot by unknown armed men at their house near El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur. UNAMID military and police are monitoring the situation in the camp and Sudanese Government police are investigating the incidence.
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UN PEACEKEEPING CHIEF ‘IMPRESSED’ WITH WORK OF BLUE HELMETS IN MIDDLE EAST

UN PEACEKEEPING CHIEF 'IMPRESSED' WITH WORK OF BLUE HELMETS IN MIDDLE EAST
New York, May 20 2009 7:00PM
The head of United Nations peacekeeping today praised the efforts of blue helmets in the Middle East who, along with their peers in volatile regions such as eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Darfur, face huge challenges.

Speaking to reporters at UN Headquarters in New York, Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Alain Le Roy said he "was quite impressed by the work done by the mission" in Lebanon, one of several operations he visited on a recent trip to the region.

Mr. Le Roy noted that no soldiers have been killed or wounded at the border between Lebanon and Israel since 2006, when the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (<"http://www.un.org/Depts/dpko/missions/unifil/">UNIFIL) was bolstered in the wake of the war between Israel and Hizbollah.

He also underscored the role UNIFIL played during the recent Gaza crisis as a deterrent from opening up another front for hostilities.

"The civilian population is extremely pleased by the presence of UNIFIL," said Mr. Le Roy, adding that Government officials in Israel and Lebanon had expressed appreciation for the mission.

The Under-Secretary-General noted that a few days after his visit, Israel handed over data and maps to the UN on the cluster munitions it fired over southern Lebanon during the 2006 conflict.

Voicing hope that ongoing talks will lead to a quick end to the dispute over Ghajar, a village that straddles the so-called Blue Line separating Lebanon and Israel, he said that he continued to apply pressure on Israel to withdraw from the north of the dividing line.

In a related development, UNFIL reported that it has been informed by the Lebanese authorities of a number of Lebanese citizens who crossed the Blue Line into Israel, UN spokesperson Marie Okabe told reporters in New York.

She noted that UNIFIL is in the process of ascertaining all the facts concerning this issue, adding that "any illegal crossing would constitute a violation of the Blue Line and a violation of Security Council resolution 1701," the resolution that ended the 2006 war.

Mr. Le Roy also spotlighted the UN Disengagement Observer Force (<"http://www.un.org/Depts/dpko/missions/undof/">UNDOF), which was established by the Security Council in 1974 following the cessation of hostilities between Israeli and Syrian armed forces on the Golan Heights.

UNDOF is a "very small mission but it's an example of a traditional peacekeeping mission which still exists and is still very much appreciated. I saw with my own eyes another mission which is clearly making a difference," he said.
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KOSOVO: PACE OF UN MISSION’S RECONFIGURATION PICKING UP – BAN

KOSOVO: PACE OF UN MISSION'S RECONFIGURATION PICKING UP – BAN
New York, Mar 19 2009 7:00PM

Despite a perception among many Kosovo Albanians that the United Nations peacekeeping mission in Kosovo has run its course, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon wrote in a new report that it has stepped up the pace of its adaptation to the changing situation on the ground.

Under "significant pressure" from opposition parties, authorities in Kosovo have repeatedly said in recent months that resolution 1244, which set up the UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK), is "no longer relevant and that the institutions of Kosovo have no legal obligation to abide by it," the publication said.

UNMIK took over the administration of Kosovo in 1999 after North Atlantic Treaty organization (NATO) forces drove out Yugoslav troops amid deadly fighting with the majority ethnic Albanian population there.

The UN has remained neutral on the question of the status of Kosovo since its declaration of independence last February, a move rejected by Serbia.

The report to the Security Council on UNMIK noted that, in line with Belgrade's official policy, many Kosovo Serbs are rejecting the authority of Kosovo's authorities, although many are applying for identify cards, driver's licenses and other Kosovo documentation.

Notwithstanding these developments, Mr. Ban said that the reconfiguration of UNMIK, for which he called in response to the "profoundly changed reality" on the ground, has picked up pace.

After almost 10 years of policing Kosovo, UNMIK has been phasing out its police component to allow the European Union Rule of Law Mission in Kosovo, known as EULEX, to assume its operational functions in the rule of law sector under the UN's overall authority.

The Secretary-General said this joint effort with the UN has taken place without significant security incidents and with the support of Pristina, Belgrade and international partners. "It constitutes a major milestone in the international involvement in Kosovo, and a positive example of cooperation between the United Nations and the European Union," he wrote.

Also last November, UNMIK's head told the Council that the mission is re-orienting its field presence to concentrate in areas occupied by ethnic non-Albanians following Kosovo's declaration of independence.

"The recent actions of the institutions of Kosovo have made it no longer possible or practicable for UNMIK to function as an administrator," Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's Special Representative Lamberto Zannier.

"We need to be able to concentrate on the areas where we can still make a difference for good, rather than attempt to continue functions which are neither relevant nor needed," he said, noting that UNMIK would monitor the well-being of the non-Albanian communities and retain a support and mediation role.
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