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Abyei

Abyei Programme

IMPACT

 

  • 4,661 kilometres of roads and 9.12 million square metres of land within the Abyei Area assessed as safe from explosive hazards, enabling peacekeeping operations and the delivery of humanitarian aid.

 

  • 4,574 items of explosive remnants of war (ERW) and 26,981 rounds of small arms ammunition removed and destroyed, enabling safe return of people to previously abandoned communities and reducing the risk posed by ERW on the annual migration of nomadic herdsmen and their livestock.

 

  • 4,994 items of obsolete ammunition handed over by the military contingent and subsequently destroyed.

 

  • 73,543 small arms ammunition, 30 weapons and 480 hand grenades received from departing TCC in UNAMID were destroyed.

 

  • 421 confiscated weapons and 24,514 rounds of small arms ammunition destroyed at the UNISFA Weapons and Ammunition Management Facility, contributing to peace and security in the Abyei Area.

 

  • 14,360 UNISFA troops, military observers, staff officers, UNPOL, South Sudanese & Sudanese national monitors received Landmine & ERW Awareness Induction and JBVMM Integrated Ground Patrol Training.

 

  • 263,216 men, women, boys, and girls living in the Abyei Area, including nomadic people, reached by Explosive Ordnance Risk Education, enhancing awareness on the dangers posed by ERW.

 

ABOUT


UNMAS in support of the United Nations Interim Security Force for Abyei

Since 2011, the status of the Abyei Area has remained a contentious issue between Sudan and South Sudan. Fighting between the Sudan People’s Liberation Army and the Sudan Armed Forces in the Abyei Area escalated and resulted in the total destruction of Abyei town and surrounding villages. Clashes led to the displacement of more than 100,000 people and additional contamination from landmines and explosive remnants of war (ERW). Tensions in the region continue to date.

 

The role of UNMAS in the United Nations Interim Security Force for Abyei (UNISFA) originates from UN Security Council resolution 1990 (2011), which established the mission and recognised the need for demining assistance. A mine incident in August 2011, which killed four UNISFA peacekeepers and injured seven others, further affirmed the criticality of mine action as an essential mission enabler in the area of operations.

 

UNMAS supports UNISFA in weapons and ammunition management, to mitigate the threat to peace and security in Abyei arising from the illicit transfer, destabilizing accumulation and misuse of small arms and light weapons.

 

The mandate of UNMAS in UNISFA is clearly stated in the various Security Council resolutions on UNISFA [1990 (2011), 2352 and 2365 (2017) and 2416 (2018)]. The most recent, resolution 2708 (2023), extended the mandate of UNISFA until 15 November 2024.

 

In resolution 2352 (2017), the Council demands “…that the Government of Sudan and the Government of South Sudan continue to facilitate the deployment of the United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS) to ensure freedom of movement, as well as the identification and clearance of mines in the Abyei Area and the Safe Demilitarised Border Zone (SDBZ).

 

Following the General Assembly’s endorsement of the UNISFA 2024/25 budget, the UNISFA mine action programme is now implemented directly by the Secretariat. As the designated centralized service provider for mine action services, UNMAS will continue to work within UNISFA to ensure that the programme design is adequate to deliver the mandate.

ACTIVITIES


UNMAS enables peacekeeping operations

UNMAS non-technical surveys, explosive ordnance disposal, area clearance and route assessment activities enable peacekeeping operations, the delivery of humanitarian aid, the return of community members to previously abandoned areas and a safe migration of nomadic herders.


Explosive Ordnance Risk Education (EORE)

UNMAS delivers explosive ordnance risk education to UNISFA personnel, enhancing their knowledge of how to respond when they encounter items of ERW while conducting operations. Similar messages are delivered to communities within the Abyei Area.


Joint Border Verification and Monitoring Mechanism

UNMAS Patrol Support Teams deploy together with the Ground Patrol Teams of the Joint Border Verification and Monitoring Mechanism, allowing those teams to move freely and protecting them against any explosive hazards that are encountered in the Safe Demilitarised Border Zone.


Weapons and Ammunition Management

UNMAS manages the disposal of weapons and ammunition confiscated by UNISFA troops, working closely with stakeholders such as UNPOL, troop-contributing countries and national monitors from Sudan and South Sudan.

 

FUNDING

 

Funding of $6.75 million to cover activities from 1 July 2024 to 30 June 2025 has been allocated from the UNISFA budget.

 

Data as of September 2024