Sudan and LJM reschedule implementation of Darfur peace deal
July 18, 2012 (KHARTOUM) – Sudanese government and the former rebel group the Liberation and Justice Movement (LJM) agreed on Wednesday to reschedule the implementation of the Doha Document for Peace in Darfur (DDPD).
Signed on 14 July 2011, three days after the secession of South Sudan, the deal provides details of a referendum on the administrative status of the region which would be held within two years after the voluntary return of the displaced civilians.
However, due to the lack of money, the Darfur Regional Authority (DRA) who are tasked with the implementation of the agreement, last month moved last month to its premises in El-Fasher and organised a conference to prepare the for the return of internally displaced persons (IDPs).
The rescheduling agreement was signed in Khartoum by Amin Hassan Omer, head of the office of DDPD implementation follow-up, for the Sudanese government and health minister Bahar Idriss Abu Garda, for the former rebel group.
LJM chairman and head of DRA, El-Tijani El-Sissis admitted the slow implementation of the peace deal. He further said the issue was discussed recently by the government, LJM and the the United Nations – African Union Mission in Darfur (UNAMID) in Doha where it was decided to establish a new schedule for the DDPD implementation.
Meanwhile, Amin Hassan Omer, who was also Sudan’s top negotiator at the Doha process, stressed that there is a need to work seriously with the regional authority to create a conducive environment for confidence building, to provide services and pay compensation.
A donor conference is expected to be held next December to draw over two billion US dollars which the DRA says is necessary to finalise recovery and development projects. Sudan and Qatar have committed themselves to pay four billion US dollars.
(ST)