10 June 2010 - UNAMID Joint Special Representative (JSR) Gambari was received today in Khartoum by Sudanese Vice President Ali Osman Mohammed Taha, who he briefed on the Mission’s recent activities.

The JSR informed the Vice President on the outcome of a series of strategic meetings on the Sudan held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, in May of this year. On 10 May, UNAMID leadership joined Sudanese officials and UN and AU representatives for the eighth meeting of the Tripartite Mechanism.

Professor Gambari touched upon his briefing to the UN Security Council on 20 May to introduce the Secretary-General’s 60-day report and to brief them on the situation on the ground.

The next round of the Security Council’s consultations on the Sudan is scheduled for 14 June in New York, with the participation of JSR Gambari and UNMIS Head of Mission Haile Menkerios, Joint Chief Mediator Djibril Bassolé and Chairperson of the African Union Panel on Darfur (AUPD) Thabo Mbeki.

Both sides exchanged views on the Mission’s ongoing efforts to play a proactive role in the peace process and to complement the efforts being made by the mediators. Vice-President Taha reiterated the full support of the Government of the Sudan for the work done by UNAMID and its new priorities of enhancing the security of civilians and internally displaced people in Darfur; continuing to provide proactive support to the ongoing peace process and joint mediation; assisting in the normalization of relations between Chad and the Sudan; and, being even more engaged in the early recovery of Darfur.