Operation SAFARI

Operation SAFARI is Canada’s participation in the United Nations Mission in Sudan (UNMIS), and the military component of the Canadian whole-of-government engagement in southern Sudan that also includes activities by the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade (DFAIT), the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP). For details of the whole-of-government approach to Sudan, visit Canada: Active in Sudan, a DFAIT website.

The mission

UNMIS was established under U.N. Security Council Resolution 1590 of March 24, 2005, with a mandate to support implementation of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement, and to perform functions relating to humanitarian assistance, and protection and promotion of human rights. The Comprehensive Peace Agreement, signed on January 9, 2005, by representatives of the Government of Sudan and the Sudanese People’s Liberation Movement/Army, ended 50 years of civil war.

The UNMIS mandate was extended to 30 April 2008 by U.N. Security Council Resolution 1784.

Task Force Sudan

Task Force Sudan is the Canadian Forces contingent in UNMIS. Commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel Richard Vincent, it comprises 30 Canadian Forces members, including 20 serving as United Nations Military Observers (UNMOs) at team sites across southern Sudan, eight on the staff at UNMIS Headquarters in Khartoum, and two with the Canadian support element in Khartoum.