UN expresses readiness to help cement Sudan peace agreement
December 17, 2007 (KHARTOUM, Sudan) –The U.N. Monday offered to help north and south Sudan cement a recent agreement to implement a 2005 peace deal threatened by the walkout of southern partners from the unity cabinet.
“We are ready to help by any means possible,” the U.N. Secretary General’s Special Representative in Sudan Ashraf Qazi told reporters during his first news conference since taking up the post almost two months ago.
He welcomed the agreement between north and south Sudan on key outstanding issues to pave the way for a return of the former rebel Sudan People’s Liberation Movement, or SPLM, to the unity cabinet.
The SPLM, led by First Vice President Salva Kiir, walked out of government in October complaining the north was failing to implement the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement, or CPA, that ended Africa’s longest-running civil war.
The move sparked fears of a resumption of fighting, but Kiir and Sudanese President Omar al-Beshir eked out an agreement during talks late Tuesday with the only remaining disagreement being the fate of the oil-rich area of Abiye.
“We witnessed some challenges for the implementation of the CPA but I think some progress has been made and we are looking forward to the outcome of the impasse,” Qazi said.
Wednesday’s agreement between Khartoum and the SPLM was hailed by U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, who reiterated full implementation of the CPA was “fundamental for lasting peace and stability in Sudan and the region.”
(AFP)