The mission is based on resolution 1996 in the UN Security Council from 8 July 2011 and is a Chapter VII operation. The operation is a fully integrated one, which means that the liaison officers will form an integrated team with the UN’s civilian police officers, representatives of other UN bodies such as the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees UNHCR, the World Food Programme and the United Nations Secretariat for Human Rights, OCHA.
The aim is that these teams will live and work in the premises that were used as electoral stations during the referendum. The assignments include, among other things, to:
support the government of South Sudan, establish an "Early Warning" system, support and examine human rights compliance, protect the civilian population, train civilian police officers and interact with South Sudan’s military forces.
The Swedish contribution to the mission is currently three liaison officers and two staff officers, of which one Air Ops (air operations).
The mission is currently in the build-up phase. Manoeuver units are being added by degrees. Three engineering companies (out of four) are also being supplied, which will play an important role in the expansion of County Support Bases (CSB) from which the integrated joint action teams will operate. In total 35 CSBs have been planned which will complement the ten existing State Capital Bases. Every CSB will accommodate around 30 people of which 3-4 will be liaison officers, Military Liaison Officers (MLO). Building these relatively small bases out in the constituent states requires a lot of work due to the nature of the land and in some cases an almost non-existent infrastructure. It is usually only during the dry season that the roads are navigable when there is no need to use a helicopter.