The United Nations Integrated Transition Assistance Mission in Sudan (UNITAMS) has revealed that the UN Security Council is set to hold a session tomorrow, Thursday, to discuss the Sudanese government’s request to terminate the mission’s mandate.
This follows the resignation of the mission’s head, German Volker Perthes, during a UN Security Council session in the second week of September, after the Sudanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs declared him persona non grata in June.
In November, the Sudanese government officially requested the termination of the mission’s mandate. Innocent Palimba Zahinda, director of UNITAMS’ civilian protection office in Sudan, viewed this request, submitted on November 16, as an attempt to halt the documentation of violations that could be used as evidence in future trials.
Addressing a training workshop with civil society organizations and human rights defenders on monitoring and fact-finding in Entebbe, Uganda, on November 27 and 28, Zahinda stated that the Council will make a decision on this matter by the end of the month, regardless of the session’s outcome.
The workshop over two days discussed human rights violations and violations of international humanitarian law in the context of ongoing conflict, including documenting sexual violence related to conflict and guidance on referral pathways for sexual violence victims. It also covered personal experiences in monitoring and documenting, risks associated with war remnants and unexploded ordnance, misinformation, and hate speech, among other topics.
These workshops are part of an ongoing program for technical assistance and capacity building for civil society organizations and human rights defenders. On November 16, the Sudanese Foreign Ministry addressed the UN Security Council, requesting an immediate end to the UNITAMS mission.
Sudan’s request to the UN Secretary-General on November 17 seeks an immediate end to the UNITAMS mission, stating that it no longer meets the country’s needs and priorities. Sudan’s ambassador to the UN, Harith Idris Harith, noted that the mission “no longer meets the needs and priorities of his country” and that Sudan is committed to engaging constructively with the UN Security Council and the UN Secretariat on a new and mutually agreed format.
