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From June 2005 to 31 December 2007, NATO provided assistance to the African Union (AU) Mission in Sudan (AMIS). It was involved in the coordination of AMIS personnel airlift – together with the European Union (EU) – as well as the provision of training to the AMIS staff.
AMIS aimed to end violence and improve the humanitarian situation in a region that has been suffering from conflict since 2003.
Alliance support ended on 31 December 2007 when AMIS was transferred to the United Nations/African Union Mission in Darfur (UNAMID). The Alliance has expressed its readiness to consider any requests for support to the new UN-AU hybrid peacekeeping force, which is intended to be made up of approximately 20 000 peacekeepers and 6000 civilian police officers.
Map courtesy of UN
NATO’s assistance to AMIS consisted in helping the African Union expand its peacekeeping mission in Darfur by providing airlift for the transport of additional AU peacekeepers into the region and by training AU personnel. NATO support did not imply the provision of combat troops.
More...On 26 April 2005, the African Union asked NATO to consider the possibility of providing logistical support to help expand its peace-support mission in Darfur. In May 2005, the Chairman of the African Union Commission, Mr. Alpha Oumar Konaré, visited NATO Headquarters – the first ever visit of an AU official to NATO HQ – to provide details of the assistance request. The next day, the North Atlantic Council tasked the Alliance’s military authorities to provide, as a matter of urgency, advice on possible NATO support.
More...NATO support to AMIS has been agreed on by the North Atlantic Council, the Alliance’s principal political decision-making body, based on advice from NATO’s military authorities.
Since May 2006, Joint Command Lisbon – under the overall command of Allied Command Operations - has the responsibility for the NATO Senior Military Liaison Officer (SMLO) team operating out of Addis Ababa.
The SMLO team is the NATO's single military point of contact in Addis Ababa with the African Union. In addition, it is the NATO military point of contact with the representatives of the countries contributing troops to the AMIS operation, the representatives of the donor nations pledging support to the African Union, the United Nations, the European Union and various embassies.
