The United Nations Security Council on Thursday extended for another year its mission in Sudan and tasked it with additional responsibilities, including support for the self- determination vote next year between north and south Sudan.
The new mandate expires on April 30 2011 with the possibility for further renewal “as may be required”, the 15-nation council said in voting unanimously for the extension.
The UN Mission in Sudan (Unmis) has deployed close to 10Â 000 troops, including 470 military observers, to monitor the 2005 comprehensive peace agreement between the government in Khartoum in the north and the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement in the south.
The agreement, which ended decades of civil war, called for a referendum in early 2011 to decide the future of the agreement.
The council asked Unmis to submit a detailed plan about UN support for the referendum, including lessons learned from the 2010 national elections and its actions in the post-referendum period.
The UN had criticised national elections organised in mid-April in which Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir, who first took power in late 1980s, was re-elected. It has focused on irregularities and the lack of preparations and education of voters.
It called on Unmis to make full use of its authority and capabilities to protect civilians, the relief and development workers and refugees.
Sudan’s UN Ambassador, Abdalmahmood Abdalhaleem Mohamed, told reporters that the renewal resolution adopted by the council contained “positive elements” and Khartoum will work to implement them. — Sapa-dpa