Sudan to hold a donor conference for Darfur development in October

August 1, 2011 (KHARTOUM) – An international donor conference for Darfur development and reconstruction will be held next October, the Sudanese government announced today, three months after the signing of a peace agreement with the rebel Liberation and Justice Movement (LJM) in Doha.

Sudan signed a peace agreement with LJM rebels on 14 July. Also the group signed a political participation deal with Khartoum and got the chairmanship of Darfur Regional Authority on 16 July. The LJM leader will return to the country in September as Khartoum is preparing to establish two new states in the region and a ministerial.

Undersecretary of the foreign ministry, Rahamt Allah, Mohamed Osman made the announcement today during a briefing to the African and Arab ambassadors in Khartoum on the Doha peace agreement.

Sudan and the LJM adopted the Doha peace document, a framework prepared by the mediation based on the outcome of the peace talks and the positions of the Sudanese parties for the resolution of the eight year conflict. The text was also endorsed last May by Darfur stakeholders.

Ambassador Rahamat Allah reiterated to the African and Arab envoys Khartoum’s seriousness to achieve a comprehensive peace in Darfur and called them to convince the rebel groups to join the peace deal. He however said that the peace document is not negotiable and the armed movements have a delay of three months to sign it.

The Sudanese official further told the meeting that his ministry is preparing to hold an international donors’ conference within three months to raise funds for Darfur construction and development. He is expected to inform the Western and Asian diplomats about the conference when he meets them on Tuesday.

The undersecretary also reaffirmed Sudan’s commitment to allocate two billion in a six year period for the development projects, stressing that 200 million will be paid after the signing of the agreement.

The State of Qatar pledged to donate two billion and established a bank for Darfur development. However, an international donor conference held in Cairo in March 2010 fell short to raise two billions for Darfur as the total of collected money reached only 850 million dollar.

Rahamat Allah informed the foreign diplomats that a follow-up committee is now established adding that the members of this panel besides Sudanese government and LJM are: the State of Qatar, the United Nations, African Union, Arab League, European Union, Organization of Islamic Cooperation, Russian Federation, United States, France, Canada, Japan, China, Chad and Britain besides the former Joint Chief Mediator Djibril Bassole and Special Representative of the African Union and the United Nations Ibrahim Gambari.

He further said the adhesion of all these countries to the follow-up panel shows the desire of the international community to end the conflict and but also its support for the Doha peace document.

The Sudanese government demanded the Burkina Faso foreign minister and former chief mediator to follow-up the implementation of the peace deal that he worked out saying they want to avoid the absence of the Kenyan mediator who brokered the comprehensive peace agreement signed with the South Sudan former rebels in 2005.

Bassole who today visited the Burkina Faso troops stationed in West Darfur as part of the hybrid peacekeeping mission, reiterated he will remain committed to help ongoing efforts for a lasting peace in Darfur.

“The achievement made in Doha is good and important but it is not the end. There will not be a comprehensive peace agreement without the participation of all movements. We need all parties to make a peace deal based on the Doha Darfur Peace Document,” he noted.

(ST)