A UN Security Council delegation will visit
Djibouti, Somalia, Sudan, Chad, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Ivory Coast beginning this weekend to apprise the situation there, it was announced Friday.
The delegation, comprised of all 15 council members, will leave on its 10-day
trip on Saturday for the first stop in Djibouti. Most of the countries to be
visited have UN peacekeeping missions, in particular Sudan, which has a
10,000-strong mission monitoring the comprehensive peace agreement (CPA)
between Khartoum and southern Sudan.
A 30,000-strong peacekeeping operation is being deployed to try to end the
conflict in Sudan's Darfur region. Sudan and Chad have been bickering over
their disputed border and Sudan-backed rebels fighting in Chad.
"On Somalia, what we hope to be doing is take the resolution up to another
level, and I believe it's possible," said South African Ambassador
Dumisani Kumalo, who will co-chair the delegation with British Ambassador John
Sawers.
The UN council recently decided to move the UN political mission in Somalia from Nairobi to a city in Somalia so it can prepare the possible first deployment of
peacekeeping operation.
Sawers said the delegation will focus on the CPA, visit southern Sudan, and El Fasher in Darfur where the UN peacekeepers have established headquarters for
activities in Darfur.
"Obviously, we will be urging all the parties to engage constructively in
Darfur in the peace process there and all the various tracks on the Sudan's policy," Sawers said.
"We'll be reiterating the council's conviction that the reduction of
tensions between Sudan and Chad is essential for lasting regional security and
we'll be calling on both to abide by their mutual agreements," he said.
The UN is also heavily engaged in the peace processes in the Congo and Ivory
Coast, dpa reported.