OFFICE OF THE SPOKESPERSON - UNAMID

Near-verbatim Transcript of UNAMID Press Briefing Held by the UN/AU Joint Special Representative for Darfur, Rodolphe Adada, on 30 April 2008, at Sudan Hall / UNMIS Khartoum – Sudan

 

UNAMID Spokesperson / Mr. Noureddine Mezni:

 

Good morning, and welcome to this Press Briefing - which is the first formal regular briefing held by the UN/AU Joint Special Representative for Darfur, Mr. Rodolphe Adada. We shall endeavour to hold regular fortnightly press briefings in the future, both in Khartoum and in El Fasher.

 

It has almost been three months since the launch of UNAMID. Last week, Mr. Adada , as you know, briefed the UN Security Council on the situation in Darfur.

 

We have provided you, as you know, with the summary and full text of his statement before the Security Council.

 

Upon his return from New York, Mr. Adada was keen to meet with members of the national and international press in Sudan to present you with a first-hand account of the situation on the ground and the work of UNAMID. After that, Mr. Adada will be happy to take your questions.

 

So, without further ado, I give the floor to, Mr. Adada.

 

UN/AU Joint Special Representative (JSR), Mr. Rodolphe Adada:

 

Thank you, Noureddine. Once again, good morning, everybody.

 

I am glad to be here, today, with you and I would like to thank you all for participating in this briefing session. I’m just back from my trip to New York … to present the Ninety Day Report to the Secretary General and to the UN Security Council. This report is about the deployment of UNAMID. I think that this is the main issue, to deploy this mission, because, as I said to the Security Council, this is, in the current situation, the only tool the international community has in dealing with the Darfur issue … I mean the Mission. After briefing the UN Security Council, as Noureddine has said, I was keen to see you to brief you, as well, because this is the only way to keep the people, and specially the people in Darfur, abreast of the situation as we see it and how the mission is developing. This is because UNAMID is running a transparent operation. So anytime, if we have the opportunity of briefing you we will do it. There is no hidden agenda in UNAMID. We are doing everything in full transparency. I think that the issue … the main issue is that we are late in deploying this mission. And I can say that everybody is impatient to see UNAMID deliver, mainly on the security issue, in Darfur. And I have the same high expectation on the deployment of that mission as the people of Darfur, themselves. But we are aware of the situation on the ground, the realities, and we have some objective impediments but we are trying to speed up the deployment of the mission. We have set an enhanced integrated deployment plan and we hope that by the end of this year, we will be at the level of 80% of the strength of the mission. But, of course we will not wait to have that strength to begin our work.

 

The second issue is the political process. In the current situation, in security…security in Darfur … the situation between Chad and Sudan … we are afraid. We should be afraid to see the political process stagnate. One more reason to deploy, as soon as possible, the Mission is to try and improve the security situation in Darfur. Now we are trying to have a cessation of hostilities in Darfur so that to have the movements on our side in trying to improve the security situation. And all this, you know the peace is an objective in itself, but the peace is also the main condition to development. And we know that the entire problem in Darfur is rooted in the underdevelopment and the poverty. So, the international community has also to think of development. In a few days, we are going to have the Sudan Consortium in Oslo and this will be part of the discussion … what can we do, not only on the humanitarian side, but also thinking of the future and to give some hope to the people of Darfur.

 

I said that we will not wait to have the full strength of the mission to start our job. I can say that we have had some good results. For example, in the South, South Darfur, where we have our first FPU - Formed Police Unit – I think that we obtained some good results in the protection of civilians and IDPs , in the patrols and everything. So, we are sure that when we have the necessary strength the mission, as we grow, we will improve security [situation] on the ground. We know now we can do it and we will do it.

 

I think that I should not be too lengthy to give you some time to discuss and to ask some questions and maybe we can go in some depth in some issues as we do that. So, I want to once again thank you for being here … so many… this shows the interest of the subject and we will try to answer your questions.

 

Spokesperson

Thank you, Mr. Adada. Now, the floor is open for your questions.

 

Question

 

It’s been almost four months since UNAMID took over, what is the reason for the delay, here? Many Western nations are blaming the Sudanese government. Is that really the reason? Is it logistical problems? What are the reasons for the delay? And second question is when will we expect the next battalion and troops to come in? and where are they going to be and how many? Thank you.

 

JSR Adada

 

We cannot blame only one party for this delay. I can say that, for example, the Heavy Support Package was supposed to be deployed one year before UNAMID and it was agreed upon between the government of Sudan and the UN and the AU one year, ago. And, unfortunately, you know, we have only, out of the 3000 troops we were expecting in the Heavy Support Package, we have only, as of now, 275 – of those 135 Chinese and 140 FPU from Bangladesh. That’s all from the Heavy Support Package. That is the first delay we had. Now, as we have signed the SOFA, we can say that there is no impediment now from the political side … from the Government of Sudan. We have set a mechanism to regularly discuss with them, every month, to see what is going on, to try to speed up the process on the customs … on everything. But you know, the Sudan is the biggest country in Africa and to go from Port Sudan to Darfur it can take some time. Really, we cannot say that the delay was from one side only. Now, some countries … some important countries in the West … because you said Western countries … have set this group of the Friends of UNAMID. We hope that the action of this will result in more rapid deployment of the Mission. When I was in New York, I had the opportunity of meeting with them and the prospects are very, very positive.

 

[We Expect] the next battalions very soon. We are expecting one battalion from Ethiopia, one battalion from Egypt in June. Some of their equipment is already there. So these are the two first battalions we are expecting. The battalions and some technical companies, signal companies and engineering.

 

Question

 

First, I would like to refer to what you said regarding progress and successes in South Darfur. Perhaps you could shed more light on this because good news often travels much slower than bad news.

 

My second question is concerning the helicopters and delays in deployment. It appears some Western countries are unwilling to provide UNAMID with the helicopters it needs. During your last visit to UN headquarters, did you seize the opportunity to discuss the issue with representatives of [potential donor] countries?

 

JSR Adada

 

[In reference to] the South, I focused on the work of the police because, you know, the part of UNAMID that will be in contact with civilians is the police…and they are doing very good work in South Darfur. For example, now we have patrols, including at night, in the IDP camps. Our objective is to have, very soon, a 24-hour a day police presence in the camps. More protection is provided to vulnerable groups, the women in particular in IDP camps. We have Community Policing. This is a concept [based on] making the people involved in their own security. It is a good success and, in the last three months, UNAMID police has registered and trained 287 volunteers for Community Policing, thirty of them are women. We think that this is really a good achievement for the Mission and we are in a very cooperative relationship with the Government of Sudan police. We discuss and we are trying to give some training to the Government police on modern policing methods, human rights and gender-based violence.

 

The Civil affairs department is very active and you know Darfur-Darfur Dialogue and Consultations preparatory Committee. We think that we are welcome in Darfur and when we have a better size we can improve this cooperation.

 

On the helicopters, the helicopters are force multipliers. We have received some proposals. We need to have the tactical helicopters to protect, for example, the humanitarian convoys. You know about the WFP incident … we had drivers killed, including just a few days, ago. [The helicopters] can be a good tool to secure the convoys, for example.

 

You know that the generation of force in a peacekeeping mission is based on the contributions of the countries. So, we hope that we will have one country or many to fill the gap in force multipliers, in particular the helicopters. But this is up to the countries not up to the mission.

 

Question

 

What progress has Eliasson and Salim to achieve a Cessation of Hostilities agreement, so far? And in reference to deployment, what is the status of deployment of the forces from Nepal and Thailand? Have they been approved by the government?

 

JSR Adada

 

Regarding the Cessation of Hostilities, after the meeting the two special Envoys had in Geneva the decision was taken that maybe we should start by trying to have a Cessation of Hostilities agreement and improve the security on the ground. We agree with that approach and this is our job. And we have some tools like the CFC and the Joint commission that are not working very well. To have this discussion with the Movements and the government can be a good idea as a way to revive those instruments and to have a beginning of a peace to keep. Because this is the problem. The main challenge that we had in Darfur is that we do not have an agreement between the Movements and the government. We support the views of the Special Envoys.

 

On the composition of the force, we can put it in a positive manner. The government said that they want to first deploy African troops. This is why we start by deploying the Ethiopians and Egyptians. And then as the Secretary General and President Bashir discussed this issue, we will then have the other troops coming including the Thai and Nepalese.

 

Question

 

How do you assess the implementation of SOFA? SOFA stipulated that there would be UNAMID broadcasting within a few days. What happened to this broadcasting?

SOFA also stipulated that Sudanese laws should be endorsed …… to prevent attacks on UNMID forces.

 

 

JSR Adada

 

We signed SOFA at the beginning of February. I cannot say that so far we have witnessed a great violation of SOFA. But we have this mechanism, the mechanism with the government, to see everything about UNAMID, from deployment to …….., everything, and if we have any complaint about SOFA, it will be in that mechanism that we will try to discuss it. And I can assure you that so far, we have nothing to complain about.

 

You spoke of the broadcasting. We are working on it. We are working on a certain broadcasting system, and really it is only a technical problem. We don’t have any political problem.

 

Spokesperson

 

We are preparing a technical study, which will be ready, by the end of this month, and I think we shall take the practical steps to establish our radio. We are working on it and it will soon be operational.

 

Question

 

The Special Envoys said there is an agreement with UNAMID on security. WFP has reduced food levels in Darfur. Are there certain things that, if UNAMID does not achieve, it will be considered a failure?

 

JSR Adada

 

We are not going to fail. UNAMID will not fail. We are late and we are speeding up, and we are sure that by the end of this year, we will have enough capabilities to fulfil our mission. We are sure. So, there is no Plan B, to my knowledge. We have only this plan to help Sudan overcome the problem in Darfur by deploying this AU-UN Hybrid Mission, with the consent of the Government of Sudan as well. It is an agreement between Sudan, the AU and the UN. Together, they have decided to set up this Mission, UNAMID. So I am sure that as long as the commitment by the three partners is there, there will not be failure for UNAMID. We have some problems now, but we are trying our best to make UNAMID work.

 

The cooperation with JMST, with the two Special Envoys, is absolutely clear. The idea they developed in Geneva was that let us try to have at least an agreement between everybody about security issues. In Sirte, for example, we did not succeed to have full agreement on everything: power sharing, wealth sharing, political issues, etc. But everybody can agree on the security issue. So let us concentrate on this problem. This was the idea. And UNAMID is fully agreed on that idea, and we are working together. We have designated some officers to work with JMST, to try to put together a draft paper on that issue.

 

So there is no problem on cooperation: it is an idea, and the idea is very clear: let us concentrate on security and try to have a full agreement by everyone on security and how to maintain security.

 

On the WFP convoys, this is of concern to everybody. And UNAMID will make it part of our job, UNMIS as well, and the Government of Sudan also. We have to protect the convoys of WFP, and very soon we will have a meeting between everybody: the Government, UNAMID, UNMIS. This is because in Kordofan, for instance, from Kordofan to Darfur, UNAMID has no mandate. But UNMIS has a mandate, and you have the Government itself. So, by putting all our efforts together, we can improve the security of the convoys.

 

But the issue of the 50% cut also originated from a shortage in the international food market. But we hope that the food we will have here in Sudan will be protected when it goes to Darfur.

 

Question

 

[Concerning] the roles of UNAMID in establishing security and in the peace process – a ceasefire cannot be achieved without a political agreement.

 

JSR Adada

 

When you have a complex problem such as that of Darfur, you can try to find a way to handle the problem, and I think this is what we can do now. From the consultations with the Movements and with the Government, we can say that almost everyone agrees that something has to be done on the security issue. So let us start by that. This does not mean that we will not continue the negotiations. It is a process. But let us start by some part of the problem. It is the only a practical way of tackling this problem, but not to leave the core issue unresolved and just concentrate on security. This is only to start with.

 

Question

 

Friends of UNAMID – How can they provide support that reaches those in remote areas? And will UNAMID be able to finance the building of its strength to 80%?

 

 

JSR Adada

 

Yes, on the second question. Definitely, yes. We have a budget, so that is not where our problems are. We have a budget voted by the General Assembly and we think the problem is not with the budget. (Anyway, I have someone here to speak on the financial aspects – the Director of Mission Support, Mr. Mohamed Yonis).

 

As to the friends of UNAMID: how are they going to help us? The problem is this. Some countries, African countries in particular, are ready to provide troops. But the requirement by the UN is that they have to have their own equipment. This is different from the AMIS troops. AMIS came without their own equipment. But the troops for UNAMID have to come with their own contingent equipment. And many African countries are unable to have this equipment before deploying their troops. So what the friends of UNAMID are going to do is to help those countries to equip themselves for the training, for everything before they come here. It is not money to be given to us directly. It is to help those countries that have pledged troops, for example Rwanda, Nigeria etc., for instance if they want some APCs but are not able to provide them, then the friends of UNAMID could help them to equip the troops that will come here. That is how it will work.

 

Question

Have you secured Government of Sudan agreement on the Friends of UNAMID?

And what is the situation in Darfur in terms of security, judicial and political issues? Are you optimistic?

 

JSR Adada

 

The answer to the last question is very simple: I am optimistic. Because this is the only way to go forward. And now I can say that the security situation in Darfur is mainly banditry, with the exception of West Darfur where you have some fighting between JEM and the Government. I can say that even this issue of the WFP convoys, this is banditry. So we think that the political violence is now diminishing. This is important for us. So I am optimistic.

 

On the first question, the Friends of UNAMID are not a new body. They will not interact directly with the Government or with UNAMID. The way they are going to work is to help those countries accepted already by the Government, by the UN and the AU, to help those countries to equip themselves before coming. And I think the government of Sudan is thankful to these Friends of UNAMID. We can only thank them.

 

By the way, you know that the UN reimburses the equipment. So these Friends of UNAMID, when they help these countries to equip themselves, they will be reimbursed afterwards by the Mission. This is part of our budget, but we cannot spend this before, we can only reimburse.

 

Mohamed Yonis (UNAMID Director of Mission Support)

 

This Mission, as you know, is the biggest mission ever in the history of peacekeeping. It is composed of almost 31,000 people. We have 19,050 military, 6,772 Police and 5,569 civilians. That makes it about 31,000 people.

 

The budget for the year 2007-2008 was US$ 1.27 Billion. And the budget we are submitting now to the General Assembly for 1 July 2008 to 30 June 2009 is US$1.7 Billion. This is the biggest mission ever in the history of peacekeeping. We are eager to do everything possible to make sure that we use the resources given to us. As the JSR has already informed you, the Mission is making every effort to deploy fast the necessary troops required. We are aiming at 80% [of our mandated capacity] by the end of the year. But the resources we have are sufficient to absorb the troops because we have budgeted for full deployment of troops. We certainly have the resources.

 

 

Spokesperson

 

Ladies and gentlemen, this brings us to the conclusion of the briefing, today. Once again, I thank you for joining us this morning and I thank M. Adada for his input. We look forward to seeing you regularly during future briefings, here, and in Darfur.

 

 

 

 

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