UN Peacekeeping Force – 2011
2011
As the southern Sudanese voted to secede from Sudan and became an independent state on 9 July 2011, the Secretary General forwarded a letter from the Government of Sudan to the Security Council on 31 May 2011. The government of Sudan had decided to terminate the presence of UNMIS as of 9 July 2011.1 Nevertheless, the government of southern Sudan had requested for a follow-upUN mission in South Sudan. Due to South Sudan’s complex and fragile regional environment, internal security concern and challenges to build institutional capacity of the state along with protecting civilians, the Secretary General recommended an establishment of a multidimensional UN operation in South Sudan (UNMISS) for four years under Chapter VI. The recommended military strength was 7,000 troops (of all ranks) and 900 police personnel.2 The UN Security Council established the UNMISS for an initial period of one year on 9 July 2011 by its Resolution 1996. The Mission was mandated “to consolidate peace and security, and to help establish the conditions for development with a view to strengthening the capacity of the Government of the Republic of South Sudan to govern effectively and democratically and establish good relations with its neighbors.”3
The UNMIS faced challenges related to maintaining peace as well as hold referendum. Despite the fact that the UNMIS fulfilled its mandate related to referendum, it failed to protect civilians from violence.