US, Canada, UN welcome deal between JEM and govt.

February 23, 2010 (WASHINGTON) — The Secretary-General of the United Nations, the Canadian Foreign Minister and the US Assistant Secretary of State welcomed the framework agreement that was affirmed today by the rebel leader Khalil Ibrahim and Sudanese president Omar Al-Bashir.

The so-called “Framework Agreement for the Resolution of the Conflict in Darfur” was agreed by the Government of Sudan and the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) on February 20 in N’djamena and signed this evening in Doha. The agreement is not a final peace deal but a framework for further negotiations meant to be finalized before March 15.

“This agreement, with its ceasefire, is another step toward a general political settlement for Darfur,” read a statement from Canadian Foreign Minister Lawrence Cannon.

Likewise, an official of the United States government under Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Assistant Secretary Philip Crowley, said “The United States welcomes the announced framework agreement between the Government of Sudan and the Darfuri rebel Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) as a significant move toward formal negotiations in the AU/UN-led Darfur peace process.”

He continued, commending the Government of Sudan, along with the AU/UN Mediation team, the Government of Qatar, and Chadian President Idriss Deby Itno for their respective roles in bringing about the framework deal.

The spokesperson of the UN Secretary General said that Ban Ki-Moon welcomes the agreement and that he “looks forward to the full implementation of the Agreement’s provisions, and encourages all parties to engage in the inclusive Doha peace process with flexibility and political vision, and to agree on a definitive political settlement of the Darfur crisis.”

(ST)