El Fasher, 01 July 2010 – Today marks six months since the Joint Special Representative (JSR) of the AU-UN Mission in Darfur, Professor Ibrahim Gambari first assumed his post. During his tenure, JSR Gambari oversaw a number of accomplishments made by UNAMID in the region.

JSR Gambari’s arrival was soon followed by the highly-anticipated deployment of five tactical helicopters, which greatly boosted the Mission’s capacity to respond quickly to emergency situations. Mr. Gambari quickly outlined UNAMID’s new priorities, which include enhancing the security of civilians and internally displaced people in Darfur; providing even more proactive support to the ongoing peace process; promoting early recovery and development in the region; and, assisting in the normalization of relations between Chad and the Sudan.

On March 21, JSR Gambari was in Cairo, Egypt, to represent UNAMID at the International Donor Conference for the Development and Reconstruction of Darfur, which raised nearly one billion USD. He then embarked on a series of diplomatic missions to West Africa, most notably to Chad, where he and President Idriss Déby discussed progress made in relations between Chad and Sudan. Soon after, Prof. Gambari proceeded to Saudi Arabia where he met with Organisation of the Islamic Conference Secretary-General Ekmeleddin İhsanoğlu and Islamic Development Bank President Ahmed Mohammed Ali Al-Madani.

In April, UNAMID trained over 10,000 police officers prepare for the country’s first general elections in 24 years. The Mission also provided logistical support to the National Elections Commission. JSR Gambari received and briefed numerous high-level delegations including former South African President Thabo Mbeki, former Ghanaian President John Kufuor; the head of the African Union (AU) Liaison Office in the Sudan; Japan’s Ambassador to the Sudan; and the head of the League of Arab States’ Elections Observation Mission.

When four UNAMID peacekeepers were taken hostage on 11 April, JSR Gambari led UNAMID’s engagement with the Sudanese Government and local authorities, and met with President of the Sudan Omar Al-Bashir. The combined efforts led to the peacekeepers’ safe release after 16 days in captivity.

At the eighth meeting of the AU/UN/Government of the Sudan Tripartite Mechanism, the JSR laid out the issues impacting the Mission’s operational effectiveness and emphasized the importance of improving security in the strife-torn region

More recently, Prof. Gambari was in Doha to support AU-UN Joint Chief Mediator Djibril Bassolé in pushing forward the stalled peace process and encouraging all stakeholders to take part in the talks.

On 5 July, Prof. Gambari will host a retreat for the international community’s special envoys to the Sudan at UNAMID’s headquarters in El Fasher, North Darfur, where the focus will be on helping promote recovery and development in Darfur.

Communications and Public Information Division