Living History
General Charles Gordon is one of the totemic figures in the shared history of the UK and Sudan: the leader of the British Force in Sudan killed on the steps of what is now the Presidential Palace by the Mahdi’s army in 1885.
In the last couple of weeks two descendants of General Gordon have separately been visiting Sudan. The embassy instigated the visit of one of them. He is also a General, Major General Robert Gordon. But in contrast to his illustrious predecessor he was here to make peace not to fight; or more exactly, to help keep peace.
Major General Robert Gordon was leading a team of distinguished trainers to run a course about UN Peacekeeping. The idea for the course came not from us, but from the Sudanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The idea was to provide a cross section of military and civilian officials with an introduction to the complex issues of UN Peacekeeping: drawing up the mandate, the challenges of implementation, managing relationships with host governments and other stakeholders…and so on. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs imaginatively suggested that there should be some participants from South Sudan too. This would have happened had not recent events in South Sudan made participation from there impossible.
Sudan is host to two UN Missions, one of them – UNAMID, in Darfur – is one of the largest in the world. So the course was of obvious direct relevance. Indeed, one of the participants is a member of the trilateral commission that oversees the functioning of UNAMID. The UN is currently carrying out a review of UNAMID, which will report shortly. Hopefully some of the understanding and insights that the participants will have gained from the course will be of value to Sudan in contributing to, understanding and helping to implement the report.
Beyond that, UN Peacekeeping is an increasingly complex and alas much needed activity, for which Sudan as a member of the UN, like all of us, shares some responsibility. Keeping up to date with the latest thinking and practice on how the military and others can be deployed to build and maintain peace is important for all of us and has particular relevance for Sudan. I understand that one participant on the course is shortly to join a UN Mission.
Major General Robert Gordon with Al-Sadig Al-Mahdi
It was not all work. Major General Robert Gordon enjoyed traditional Sudanese hospitality, not least from the al Mahdi family for whom, as for us, it seems that historical military confrontation has provided a bedrock for contemporary friendship. Saddiq Al Mahdi generously hosted dinner; and Major General Gordon was separately given a private and evocative tour of the Palace and the Palace Museum. He dined too, at The British residence, with a great grandson of the Khalifa.
I hope the Peacebuilding course will not be an isolated event. Course participants said they found it hugely beneficial. They heard guest lectures from the Joint Special Representative and head of UNAMID and from the UN Resident Coordinator, both of whom thought the UN might want to organise further courses in the same vein. If so, this might become another area in which the UN family can make a positive contribution to capacity building in Sudan.