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UN to establish South Sudan peacekeeping mission

08 July 2011 18:03 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. The U.N. Security Council unanimously agreed Friday to establish a new peacekeeping mission in South Sudan, which will become world’s newest nation on Saturday, APA reports quoting Xinhua.

The United Nations Mission in the Republic of South Sudan (UNMISS) will be established on July 9 "for an initial period of one year with the intention to renew for further periods." It will have up to 7,000 military personnel and 900 civilian police as well as civilian staff, including human rights investigation experts, according to the resolution.

The Security Council also decided to review in three and six months whether the conditions on the ground could allow a reduction of military personnel to a level of 6,000, the resolution said.

It said the UNMISS mandate "shall be to consolidate peace and security, and to help establish the conditions for development in the Republic of South Sudan, 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 neighbor."

With the declaration of South Sudan independence this Saturday and the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) inked between north and south Sudan in 2005, the mandate of the existing United Nations Mission in Sudan (UNMIS) will terminate.