In the making since 2014, UNAMID’s transition concept was consolidated in 2018 by the Special report of the Chairperson of the African Union Commission and the Secretary-General of the United Nations on the strategic review of the African Union-United Nations Hybrid Operation in Darfur 1 and endorsed by the resolution 2429 (2018). Defining further the two-pronged approach, the resolution proposed an innovative whole-of-system approach to be implemented in collaboration with UNCT through joint “State Liaison Offices” later called “State Liaison Functions” (SLF).
DCAF’s ISSAT has responded positively to a request from UNAMID to assist in carrying out a lesson identification on the support provided through the SLF modality in the areas of rule of law (RoL) and human rights (HR), in the broader framework of Mission transition in Darfur. This exercise will be implemented in collaboration with OROLSI, UNDP-DPO-DPPA Joint Transition Project, and OHCHR.
Mandating organisation / agency / department / ministry
Target organisation type(s)
Mandate outputs / products
- One short (10-15 page) inception report, outlining the background, context, methodology, and key questions to be pursued during the mission in Sudan, emerging from the documental review, preliminary interviews, and interactions in New York with key UN HQ interlocutors.
- A Paper on Preliminary Findings and Recommendations.
- One final report detailing key findings, documenting good practice and lessons identified on the SLF, including potential recommendations in the context of the upcoming UN/AU presence in Darfur and Sudan more widely, as well as for other multilateral and bilateral partners engaging in security, justice, and human rights assistance in the country going forward.
- A dedicated webpage for the lessons will be created within ISSAT’s website, similarly to UNMIL’s lessons identification, reaching a wider audience amongst practitioners, researchers, and academics. The final report and links to the dedicated ISSAT webpage will also be included in the Peacekeeping Resource Hub with support from DPET.
Outcome objectives of mandate
The objectives of this exercise are:
- To capture good practice, lessons and innovation from the development of the SLF approach, and respective joint planning, implementation and coordination modalities by UNAMID and UNCT
- To provide recommendations for improving implementation of the SLF in the upcoming phases, including, potentially, in the context of the follow-on Mission (UNITAMS);
- To identify how the operating environment affects the results of the assistance provided on RoL and HR;
- To enquire into the role of key UN entities/initiatives (Transition Project, GFP PBSO, OHCHR, UNDP, etc.) in contributing/enabling service delivery on RoL in Darfur, considering a sequenced approach with that of the SLF;
- To contribute to timely learning by upcoming transition processes (for example DRC, Mali, CAR) and provide recommendations for improvement.