Darfur peace implementation panel discusses ceasefire violations

Feb 7, 2007 (AL-FASHER) — The fifth meeting of the Darfur Peace Agreement Joint Commission discussed today reports on the ceasefire violations in Darfur and condemned attacks on AU, NGOs personnelin the region.

The meeting was chaired by the Acting Special Representative of the Chairperson of the AU Commission, Mrs. Monique Mukaruliza, and was attended by the signatories of the DPA and DoC, the UN, the EU and the US as members, and Canada, France, the League of Arab States, the Netherlands, Egypt and the UK as observers.

The Sudanese government was represented by Gen. Mohamed Ahmed Al-Dabi Special Representative of the President of the Republic in Darfur.

Below the full text of a press release issued by the African Union Mission in Sudan on the above mentioned meeting:

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1. The DPA Joint Commission (JC) held its fifth meeting on 07 February 2007 in El Fasher, North Darfur, Sudan. The meeting was chaired by the Acting Special Representative of the Chairperson of the AU Commission, Mrs. Monique Mukaruliza, and was attended by the signatories of the DPA and DoC, the UN, the EU and the US as members, and Canada, France, the League of Arab States, the Netherlands, Egypt and the UK as observers.

2. The meeting considered the report of the Chairperson of the Ceasefire Commission (CFC), Maj. Gen. LK Aprezi, on ceasefire violations, which also contained a review of the current security situation in Darfur, and presented 12 investigated cases of violation for consideration from 3 October 2006 – 11 January 2007.

3. On the prevailing security situation in Darfur, the JC took note of the report of the Chairperson of the CFC, covering the period since the last meeting of the Commission on 15 December 2006 and fully endorsed it. The Commission in particular:

Noted that since the last JC meeting on 15 December 2006, there has been a decrease in the activities of the Janjaweed;

Noted that attacks and counter-attacks involving all the parties in Darfur continued, with adverse effect on civilian population, and which subsequently affected humanitarian access;

Deplored and strongly condemned the increase in assaults and attacks on AMIS, as well as Aid agencies and organisations’ personnel and properties, including killings, abduction, stealing and snatching of vehicles; the JC, however, welcomed the commitment of the parties in the Commission to respect AMIS, UN, NGOs and humanitarian workers, properties and installations;

Regretted the lack of sufficient cooperation and support by the parties in curbing this trend and the tracking down of the culprits. In this regard, the meeting welcomed the contribution of the SLA Non-Signatory Faction (SLA-NSF) and JEM in finding two of the hijacked vehicles and the arrest of a suspect.

The JC also:

Noted an increase in the intra and inter-tribal conflicts and commended the initiatives of the GoS to arrest the situation;

Welcomed the start of the verification process in areas controlled by the DPA/DoC signatories, and urged the parties to give their optimum cooperation, particularly with regard to the cessation of hostilities.

4. On the operation of the Second Chamber of the Ceasefire Commission (CFC), the JC:

Welcomed the successful commencement of the Second Chamber in El Fasher, and took note of problems militating against its operation at the Sub-Sector CFC level. The JC encouraged the FC to work out practical ways and means for dealing with the problems and called upon the Parties, the AU and International Community to support these efforts including a fully functional second chamber;

Recalled the need to have a strengthened Ceasefire, and in this regard emphasized the necessity to have a strong, effective and well funded CFC; the JC reiterated the need for a total and immediate cessation of hostilities;
Called on all the parties to make compromise in the spirit of their collective belief that there is no military solution to the conflict in Darfur, and there is need to use dialogue in resolving the crisis;

Requested the Force Commander/Chairman CFC to use his discretion, in the light of the decision of the Joint Commission taken in its third meeting in Addis Ababa, to make the Second Chamber work efficiently at all levels.

Encouraged the AU and its partners to intensify their efforts to broaden the support base for the DPA and in this regard, once again renewed its strong appeal to the non-signatories to respond positively to the efforts to bring them into the peace process.

Finally the JC took note of the GoS inalienable rights to protect the territorial sovereignty of Sudan including its borders.

5. In considering the 12 cases of violations submitted by the CFC Chairperson, which were carried out by both signatories and non-signatories, some parties expressed strong objection to the conclusions of the CFC on most cases. Unable to reach consensus, the JC invoked the relevant provisions of the DPA (Article 25 Paragraph 254) and decided that a report shall be issued with each party’s view. The JC, however, noted there was consensus that violations did indeed take place, carried out by both signatories and non-signatories. In this regard, the JC condemned the trend and urged the parties to exercise restraint as well as abide by the provisions of Ceasefire Agreements.

6. The JC was briefed on the Janjaweed Disarmament Plan, submitted by the GoS and reviewed by the CFC. The JC took note of the briefing and endorsed the GoS proposal for a Joint CFC/GoS Military Experts, to meet as soon as possible to deliberate and finalise the Plan for implementation.

7. In updating itself on the implementation of the DPA provisions, particularly, as they relate to the Final Security Arrangements, the JC observed that for various reasons, these aspects of the DPA implementation are lagging behind. The JC, underscored the need to move speedily to address issues such as non-military logistical support to the movements and appealed to the International Community to extend support to the AU in this respect. The JC commended, in this regard, the steps taken by the GoS, particularly in facilitating the work of the DPA and DoC signatories and in extending non-military logistical support to the movements. The JC stressed the need to follow-up and expedite the sequencing in the DPA for the Final Security Arrangements, including the full operationalisation of the Transitional Darfur Regional Authority (TDRA) and all security-related Commissions.

8. The JC called on the Force Commander and the CFC to move speedily to implement the DPA provisions on the verification of the locations and areas of control of the Parties in Darfur, to facilitate the implementation of the Security-related provisions of the DPA. It observed that the proliferation of DoC signatories is impacting on the effective functioning of the DPA Ceasefire mechanisms, and recommended to the AU to undertake a review and a rationalization in this regard.

9. The JC decided that the next regular meeting should take place in the second week of March 2007 in El Fasher.

El Fasher

07 February 2007