UN Security Council extends Darfur mission by one year

The UN Security Council today extended its peacekeeping mission in the Darfur region of Sudan by one more year.

In a unanimous resolution, the Security Council called for the UN to set out a plan so it can measure whether the mission is making progress towards achieving its mandate.

The 15-membered body stressed the importance of protecting Darfur's civilian population and ensuring humanitarian workers have unhindered access to those in need.

It also emphasised "the importance of achievable and realistic targets against which the progress of UN peacekeeping operations can be measured."

It asked Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to submit a work plan containing benchmarks so the Council can track UNAMID's progress in implementing its mandate.

The UN body's decision to extend the mission follows a request earlier this month from Ban, who warned in his latest report on the work of the mission that numerous challenges remain in Darfur, despite the decrease in large-scale conflict.