Britain voted to renew the UN Interim Security Force for Abyei (UNISFA) on 14 November 2025. Delivering the UK’s explanation of vote in New York, Minister Counsellor Jennifer MacNaughtan thanked the United States for its work on the resolution text.
The statement set out two points. First, UNISFA remains essential to stability and the protection of civilians in Abyei, and any future decision on the mission must be informed by a thorough assessment of the implications for protection of civilians (PoC).
Second, the UK said addressing conflict drivers in Abyei requires sustained attention to climate impacts and to the specific needs of women and girls through an inclusive process. The UK regretted the removal of these provisions from the adopted text.
According to Security Council Report’s account of negotiations, the penholder, the United States, reworked several previously agreed references to women, peace and security and to climate change. Drafts reportedly replaced the term “gender” with “women and girls” in multiple clauses, removed text on sexual and gender‑based violence, and proposed deleting language on deploying gender and child protection advisers and on access to medical and psychosocial services; references to international humanitarian law also gained the qualifier “as applicable”, drawing concern from some members.
Members also questioned proposals to link renewal to benchmarks in ways that could be read as an automatic drawdown. The draft in blue was adjusted to reaffirm that any decision on UNISFA’s future remains the Council’s determination, addressing those concerns while maintaining a focus on progress by Sudan and South Sudan.
As reference, the 2024 renewal (resolution 2760) kept UNISFA’s authorised ceilings, extended support to the Joint Border Verification and Monitoring Mechanism and underscored that PoC covers action against threats from any actor. It also pressed the parties to demilitarise Abyei and allow humanitarian access, setting the baseline against which changes in this year’s text are being judged.
Security conditions underline why PoC language matters. In March 2025 the Council condemned the Rapid Support Forces for detaining more than 60 peacekeepers, abducting eight UN personnel and looting a UNISFA convoy carrying some 280,000 litres of fuel, before all victims were returned safely.
Analysis: paring back climate and women‑specific provisions narrows the formal basis for staffing, reporting and resourcing that typically support gender expertise, climate‑risk analysis and survivor‑centred services in peace operations. Mission leadership may therefore lean more on Secretariat guidance and established practice to maintain coverage in planning, monitoring and reporting.
For the authorities in Sudan and South Sudan, the message is consistent: take steps in line with the resolution, support UNISFA’s deployment and freedom of movement, and sustain demilitarisation of the Abyei area and humanitarian access. These calls have featured in successive mandates and were reiterated by the UK in backing the renewal.
Next steps will focus on the Secretariat’s assessment of PoC implications ahead of any configuration change and on how the Council revisits benchmarks without prejudging withdrawal. Close tracking of Council papers and reporting cycles will be important for implementers operating in and around Abyei.