The improvement of planning and management of UN Peace Operations is key to the current reform of the Peace and Security pillar of the UN System, including the crucial phase of Mission transition, when commitment to resilience and sustainability of the initiatives supported during the lifetime of the Missions should be bolstered.

It is also at this juncture that the interface with the reforms of the Development pillar of the UN System, aiming at increased effectiveness for delivery on the Sustainable Development Goals becomes more prominent. To deepen understanding about how these interfaces impact the delivery of substantive agendas and in order to improve these processes, the UN has been accumulating lessons from different transition contexts.

The present lesson identification project carried out at the request of the African Union - United Nations Hybrid Operation in Darfur (UNAMID) by a joint DCAF-ISSAT, OROLSI, OHCHR and the UN Transitions Project (DCO-DPO-DPPA-UNDP) team contributes to this broader endeavor, by offering a practitioners’ understanding of the innovative process implemented in Darfur.

The lessons were therefore captured first-hand, including identification of good practice deriving from implementation of the new whole-of-system transition concept by the AU/UN system to advance peacebuilding in Darfur through the “State Liaison Functions”. Whilst this project was ongoing, Sudan’s rapidly evolving political transition prompted the establishment of the United Nations Integrated Transition Assistance Mission in Sudan (UNITAMS). Therefore, in addition to contributing to timely learning for upcoming transition processes (for example DRC, Mali, CAR), the opportunity was also seized to develop a few recommendations to inform ongoing thinking by the UNITAMS planning team.

To learn more, visit the UN/AU Darfur Transition web page