The African Union Peace and Security Council met on November 30 at Abuja (Nigeria), for its 66th session at the level of Heads of State and Government to address the situation in Darfur (Western Sudan).


Among the main decisions taken during that meeting, the Council decided to endorse the conclusions of the Addis Ababa High level Consultation on the situation in Darfur of 16 November 2006, which provides guidelines for a three-phased United Nations support to the African Union Mission in the Sudan (AMIS) features as follow:

(i) a light support package;
(ii) a heavy support package and
(iii) a hybrid operation

With this respect, the Council took the decision that a Special Representative shall be jointly appointed by the Chairperson of the Commission of the African Union and the Secretary-General of the United Nations and that the Force Commander, who should be an African, shall be appointed by the Chairperson of the Commission in consultation with the Secretary-General of the United Nations. In addition, the Mission shall benefit from United Nations backstopping and command and control structures and systems; the size of the force shall be determined by the African Union and the United Nations, taking into account all relevant factors and the situation on the ground, as well as the requirements for it to effectively discharge its mandate.


The Council finally decided to extend the mandate of AMIS for a period of 6 months, from 1 January 2007, subject to review by Council and based on the availability of financial resources. In that respect, the Council called for a financial support from the United Nation and partners of the African Union.

Source: Communiqué of the 66th meeting of the Peace and Security Council