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UN extends South Sudan mission

Wednesday May 28 2014
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United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) peacekeepers stand guard at an entrance to the Tongping UNMISS base in Juba. The UN Security Council has extended the Mission's mandate to November 30, 2014. AFP PHOTO/PHIL MOORE

The United Nation’s Security Council has extended the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) to November 2014.

It has also revised its mandate to give priority to the task of protecting civilians and to address the security, humanitarian and political crisis that has gripped the nation for the past six months.

In a unanimously adopted resolution, the Council decided to extend the Mission until November 30, 2014, and authorised it to use “all necessary means” to protect civilians.

The Mission will also monitor and investigate human rights, create the conditions for delivery of humanitarian assistance, and support the implementation of the cessation of hostilities agreement.

In doing so, the Council requested UNMISS to focus and streamline its activities, across its military, police and civilian components in order to achieve progress on the above-mentioned tasks, and recognised that “certain Mission tasks will therefore be ceased.”

Troops

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The authorised troop and police strengths of the Mission will remain 12,500 and 1,323, respectively, as was decided by the Council in late December 2013.

This was after political infighting between President Salva Kiir and former Vice President Riek Machar turned into a full-fledged conflict that has dispalced over one million people.

At the same time, the Council has endorsed the recommendations made by Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon in a recent report to increase the overall force levels of UNMISS to support its restructured mandate.

It requested Mr Ban to review needs on the ground, and provide an updated assessment of the force’s operations, deployment and future requirements 120 days after the adoption of the resolution.

In line with its mandate, UNMISS has been protecting between 75,000 and 80,000 civilians who have sought safety at its bases around the country for months since the violence began.

In the latest resolution, the Council emphasised that the protection of civilians must be given priority in decisions about the use of available capacity and resources within the Mission.

The Council also condemned “in the strongest terms” attacks on and threats made to UNMISS personnel and UN facilities, including violations of the Status of Forces Agreement, and stressed that such attacks may constitute war crimes.

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