Letter to the Chairman of the Committee
from the Rt Hon Hilary Benn MP, Secretary of State for International
Development
During the evidence session on 21 December 2004,
I promised to write to you with the answers to your questions
regarding Dr Kapila's departure from the United Nations in Sudan,
and the membership of the African Union Peace and Security Council.
Dr Kapila
You asked about the circumstances surrounding
Dr Kapila's departure from the UN in Sudan. As Dr Kapila was (and
is) a serving UN official, we have approached the UN on the reasons
for his departure.
The UN has explained that senior staff in UNDP
are regularly reassigned to different posts and locations subject
to the exigencies of the service and corporate demands of the
organisation. In this case, with the prospect of a seemingly imminent
CPA, the UN decided to establish a new team in Sudan, headed by
a Special Representative to the Secretary General (SRSG), and
to reassign Dr Kapila. Regrettably, as a CPA was not signed as
initially thought, and the Government of Sudan delayed in agreeing
a candidate offered by the UN, there was a subsequent delay in
the appointment of a SRSG.
African Union Peace and Security Council (AU PSC)
The current members of the AU PSC are: Gabon,
Ethiopia, Algeria, South Africa, Nigeria, Cameroon, Republic of
Congo, Kenya, Sudan, Libya, Lesotho, Mozambique, Ghana, Senegal
and Togo. The 15 members of the AU PSC are elected by the African
Union Assembly, which comprises all 53 member states. Ten of the
15 are elected for a term of two years, the remaining five for
three years. The "Protocol Relating to the Establishment
of the Peace and Security Council of the African Union",
which contains the rules and procedures for the operation of the
AU PSC, states that all 53 member states must be treated equally,
and that the Assembly should aim for an equitable representation
of all regions.
I hope that this is helpful.
14 January 2005
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