Attachments
A quarterly publication by UNAMID’s Human Rights Section
Letter from the Director’s Desk
This second edition of Human Rights First—UNAMID’s human rights newsletter—focuses on the importance of partnership as well as highlights how the Mission’s Human Rights Section (HRS) works together with various partners and stakeholders to promote respect for human rights in Darfur.
As the principal focal point for human rights in the Mission,
UNAMID HRS is mandated to provide human rights protection for civilians, mainstreaming human rights in UNAMID and United Nations Country Team (UNCT) programming, including the peace process, humanitarian assistance; implementation of the human rights and justice elements of the DDPD and human rights main streaming in the mediation of community con ict to address its root causes.
In order to ful ll this mandate and optimize impact, UNAMID HRS engages widely with partners within and outside the Mission to provide a forum to continuously identify, highlight, and develop responses to human rights challenges in Darfur. Within the Mission, these e orts include information gathering, veri cation and analysis, training of military, police and civilian components, who are frontline responders to incidents of human rights violations and abuses.
Externally, partnerships have been built through regular engagement with state and national authorities including the Sudanese police, national intelligence agencies, human rights state forums, as well as gender-based violence working groups and related mechanisms at the state level.
Non-state actors such as civil society groups including nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), the United Nations Country Team (UNCT), international organizations, are also equally engaged to highlight and facilitate provision of humanitarian assistance and the right for a digni ed existence for the people of Darfur.
Particular focus is also given to strengthening of state human rights forums and National Human Rights Institutions (NHRIs) with due regard to the principles relating to the status of national institutions (the Paris Principles). Collaborations between UNAMID HRS and United Nations Agencies,
Funds and Programmes in implementing activities on promotion of human rights are grounded on the need to make e cient use of nancial resources, complimentary skill sets for maximum outputs and limiting duplication where mandates overlap.
Through training activities, policy development and implementation as well as mainstreaming human rights into long term development, UNCT shares responsibility of supporting national partners as well as exchanging information and undertaking joint reporting where feasible. Additionally,
UNAMID HRS advises the Resident Coordinator on policy and strategic issues including the implementation of the UN Human Rights Due Diligence Policy and the Secretary-General’s Rights Up Front initiative.
Civil society actors, including NGOs, are critical in the promotion and protection of human rights in Darfur and collaborating with UNAMID HRS becomes an entry point in harnessing their contribution to this cause. Through capacity building individuals and groups are able to claim their rights including how they can engage with national and state human rights mechanisms as well as United Nations human rights bodies and mechanisms.
UNAMID-HRS hopes that these partnerships will grow exponentially over the years to leave a significant footprint on the human rights situation in Darfur. More importantly, it is our firm belief that working together creates better synergy, greater impact, saves money and avoids duplication of efforts in realizing rights for every Darfuri, everywhere, every day