UN council pledges aid as reward for Sudan peace: resolution excerpts
UNITED NATIONS, Nov 19 (Reuters) – Following are excerpts from a resolution adopted unanimously by the U.N. Security Council in Nairobi, Kenya, on Friday and aimed at encouraging peace agreements ending civil wars in southern and western Sudan.
After the resolution’s adoption, the Sudanese government and the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM) signed a document declaring their commitment to complete a final peace accord by Dec. 31 to end 21 years of war in Sudan’s oil-producing south.
The Security Council …
– Reaffirming its commitment to the sovereignty, unity, independence and territorial integrity of Sudan, and recalling the importance of the principles of good-neighborliness, noninterference and regional co-operation …
– Expressing its determination to help the people of Sudan to promote national reconciliation, lasting peace and stability, and to build a prosperous and united Sudan in which human rights are respected and the protection of all citizens is assured …
– Encouraging the parties to conclude speedily a Comprehensive Peace Agreement, and stressing the need for the international community, once such an agreement has been signed and implementation begins, to provide assistance towards its implementation,
– Emphasizing that progress towards resolution of the conflict in Darfur would create conditions conducive for delivery of such assistance …
DECLARES its strong support for the efforts of the government of Sudan and the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement/Army to reach a comprehensive peace agreement, encourages the parties to redouble their efforts … and strongly endorses the parties’ commitment to reach a final comprehensive agreement by 31 December 2004 and expects that it will be fully and transparently implemented, with the appropriate international monitoring; …
DECLARES its commitment, upon conclusion of a comprehensive peace agreement, to assist the people of Sudan in their efforts to establish a peaceful, united and prosperous nation, on the understanding that the parties are fulfilling all their commitments, including those agreed in Abuja, Nigeria and Ndjamena, Chad; …
REITERATES its readiness, upon the signature of a comprehensive peace agreement, to consider establishing a United Nations peace support operation to support the implementation of that agreement, and reiterates its request to the (U.N.) Secretary-General (Kofi Annan) to submit to the council, as soon as possible after the signing of a comprehensive peace agreement, recommendations for the size, structure, mandate of such an operation, including also a timetable for its deployment; …
UNDERLINES the importance of progress in peace talks in Abuja between the government of Sudan and the Sudanese Liberation Army and the Justice and Equality Movement towards resolving the crisis in Darfur, insists that all parties to the Abuja peace talks negotiate in good faith to reach agreement speedily … and looks forward to the early signature of a declaration of principles with a view to a political settlement;
DEMANDS that government and rebel forces and all other armed groups immediately cease all violence and attacks, including abduction, refrain from forcible relocation of civilians, cooperate with international humanitarian relief and monitoring efforts, ensure that their members comply with international humanitarian law, facilitate the safety and security of humanitarian staff, and reinforce throughout their ranks their agreements to allow unhindered access and passage by humanitarian agencies and those in their employ …