Khartoum, 12 July 2008 -- Representatives from the Government of Sudan (GoS), African Union (AU) and the United Nations today held their sixth meeting of the Tripartite Mechanism and discussed issues related to the deployment and recruitment of staff members of the African Union/United Nations Mission in Darfur (UNAMID), as well as the way forward for the Mission.

The meeting reviewed outstanding matters pertinent to air operations, approvals for Sudanese visas and the status of activation of a broadcast radio frequency and licence for UNAMID. Matters concerning procurement, and recruitment of national staff members, who currently represent two-thirds of UNAMID civilian personnel, were also discussed.

Participants stressed the need to keep the spirit of partnership and cooperation intact. So far, the Mechanism has achieved progress in a number of areas, notably in force deployment, which has recently reached almost 69 per cent of the mandated strength. Further, they expressed determination to remove all obstacles to the deployment of the Mission for the benefit of Sudanese, in general, and particularly Darfurians who have been affected by war, displacement and insecurity.

The GoS delegation was led by the Sudanese Undersecretary of Foreign Affairs, Dr. Mutrif Sadiq, while the AU was represented by Peace and Security Commissioner Ramtane Lamamra, and the UN by Under-Secretary-General for Field Support, Ms. Susanna Malcorra. Joint Special Representative, Rodolphe Adada, led the UNAMID delegation.

The seventh tripartite meeting is expected to be held in New York in the margins of the sixty-fourth session of the UN General Assembly in September 2009.