UN Security Council renews UNISFA mandate for six additional months

NEW YORK (AGENCIES) – The UN Security Council on Thursday renewed the mandate of the UN peacekeeping force in Abyei, a territory contested by Sudan and South Sudan, by six months, till Nov.15, 2022.

Resolution 2630, which won the unanimous support of the 15 members of the Security Council, also decides to extend the peacekeeping mission’s mandate modification till Nov. 15, 2022.

The Security Council first modified the mandate of the UN Interim Security Force for Abyei (UNISFA) in December 2011 to add tasks of supporting a Joint Border Verification and Monitoring Mechanism of Sudan and South Sudan, which gained independence from the former in July 2011.

Resolution 2630 decides that UNISFA should maintain the authorized troop ceiling at 3,250 and the authorized police ceiling at 640.

It urges the governments of Sudan and South Sudan to provide full support for UNISFA in the implementation of its mandate and deployment of UNISFA personnel. It reiterates that Abyei shall be demilitarized from any forces, as well as armed elements of the local communities, other than UNISFA and the Abyei Police Service.

UNISFA was set up by the Security Council in June 2011 after a flare-up shortly before South Sudan’s independence.