02 October 2008

El Fasher, Darfur, Sudan: The UNV contribution to the year-old African Union-United Nations Hybrid Operation in Darfur (UNAMID)  is underway, with more than half of the volunteers in place or scheduled to arrive soon.

Due to the dangerous conditions in Darfur, international civilian staff are being brought in incrementally.  However, more than 200 UNV volunteers have already arrived to support the African Union-led peacekeeping mission and the contingent already represents a third of the international civilian staff currently in place. A further 100 UNV volunteers are awaiting deployment and about 250 more are being recruited.

UNAMID was established on 31 July 2007 under United Nations Security Council Resolution 1769, and is set to become one of the largest missions to date for the United Nations Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO). Once all 548 UNV volunteers are deployed, they will make up a third of the international civilian staff involved in UNAMID, just as UNV volunteers comprise 30 percent of international civilian staff engaged in DPKO missions elsewhere.

Those UNV volunteers already in Darfur are already making a difference, says the UNV Programme Manager for UNAMID, Omar Jallow. "For example, in air operations they are really key," he explains. "At El Fasher, the capital of north Darfur, a UNV volunteer Flight Following Officer is handling more than 25 flights a day… Another UNV volunteer, formerly a pilot from Ghana, works on training and plays a major role in briefing UN pilots and familiarizing them with routes."

UNV's contribution to UNAMID's medical staff is also significant. "Until June, just about all of the Medical Officers at the three level-one clinics were UNV volunteers," says Mr. Jallow. The sole dentist and the sole general surgeon on the UNAMID civilian staff are UNV volunteers too; and a UNV volunteer nurse working in the UNAMID Liaison Office in Khartoum also coordinates the evacuation and admission of UN personnel referred from El Fasher, sometimes organizing their repatriation as well.

The mission in Darfur presents some serious challenges. One issue is infrastructure, and there are around 50 UNV volunteer communications and information technology specialists setting up satellite communications, troubleshooting network problems, programming handheld radios, laying cables and building other communications infrastructure. Without them, the ability of the civilian component of the mission to communicate within itself, to the military and to the outside world would be restricted.

An underlying cause of the Darfur conflict is access to water, so UNV water and sanitation experts have been looking for water sources and ensuring troops have a good and clean supply. Again, without contributions like this, UNAMID's ability to function would be limited.

"We are key partners in everything that's being done," Mr. Jallow concludes. "It's only the start of the mission, but we are making a lot of progress."

UNV is heavily involved in other missions in Sudan too, with 230 UNV volunteers working with the United Nations Mission in Sudan and about 100 more working with UN agencies such as the World Food Programme and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). There are about another 100 in neighbouring Chad, mainly working with the United Nations Mission in the Central African Republic and Chad (MINURCAT).