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UNITED NATIONS, July 11 (KUNA) -- Newly independent South Sudan on Monday submitted its application to become a UN member, at a time the Security Council voted to dismantle the UN Mission in Sudan (UNMIS) and transfer most of its military personnel to the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS).
Submitting a request for admission to UN membership in a letter to Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, who referred it to the Council and the General Assembly "for consideration as soon as practicable," South Sudan President Salva Kiir said his country which officially declared its independence from Sudan last Saturday accepts the obligations contained in the UN Charter and solemnly undertakes to fulfill them." The independence of South Sudan was the result of a referendum held last January, but which the south voted for independence. The referendum itself was stipulated by the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) that put an end to decades of war between the Government of Sudan in the north and the Sudan People's Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM) in the south.
The Security Council is scheduled to recommend to the General Assembly tomorrow Tuesday to accept South Sudan as the Organisation's 193rd country. The Assembly is scheduled to act on that recommendation on the following day, Wednesday.
In a related matter, the Council voted on Monday to dismantle the UN Mission in Sudan (UNMIS), which was created in 2005 to monitor the ceasefire and the CPA, and to transfer 7,000 of its 10,000 personnel to UNMISS established by the Council last Friday to monitor the border and assist in building democratic and economic institutions in the south. (end) sj.bs KUNA 112250 Jul 11NNNN