US envoy calls on all sides to resolve Darfur crisis in upcoming talks

By Anoushka Marashlian, Global Insight Limited.

Aug 26, 2005 (Khartoum) — The US Special Envoy to Sudan, Roger Winter, has urged both the Sudanese government and Darfur’s rebel groups to reach an agreement during the next round of peace talks, set to resume on 15 September 2005 in the Nigerian capital, Abuja.

Winter told AFP yesterday that from ‘the US perspective, Darfur simply cannot go on … and we truly hope that this upcoming round, whenever it starts, will be handled efficiently and, hopefully, will be the last round‘.

The Darfur crisis has attracted the sustained input of the US, with top US officials ranging from US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to US Deputy Secretary of State Robert Zoellick visiting Sudan in recent months.

Significance: Winter’s comments underscore the heightened sense of international importance attached to resolving the Darfur crisis. The international community is eager to see an end to the conflict, which has been defined by the UN as a ‘humanitarian catastrophe’. In order to resolve the conflict and prevent the latest round of talks from faltering in the same manner as previous rounds, it is necessary to substantiate words with action and demonstrate that the world is indeed serious about bringing an end to the human rights violations and acts of violence that continue to plague Sudan’s Darfur province.