AU says peace in Darfur prerequisite to comprehensive solution in Sudan
July 19, 2013 (KHARTOUM) – The Peace and Security Council of the African Union (PSC) on Friday called on the international community to keep up its support to the Doha Document for Peace in Darfur (DDPD) stressing that a constitutional review process can deal with the remaining problems the Sudan is facing.
Minni Minnawi deputy leader of the rebel alliance and head of a Darfur rebel group told Sudan Tribune this week that American and Canadian diplomats – participating in a meeting held in Geneva to discuss peaceful solutions of the conflicts in Darfur and the Two Areas and to promote democracy in Sudan – supported their demand for a comprehensive solution.
The PSC “renews its appeal to the international community not to relent in its support to the search for durable peace and stability in Darfur, including support for timely implementation of DDPD provisions”, said the statement released on Friday.
The regional body further stressed the need for international support to create an environment conducive for economic recovery and development in Darfur. It further urged “international partners to engage with the Government of Sudan on the matter of debt relief”.
To explain its position the Council said that “the people of Darfur simply should not wait any longer for a comprehensive resolution of the conflict”. Even if it admitted that “the Darfur crisis is a manifestation of broader political and social problems facing Sudan as a whole”.
The 15-member body further urged the Sudanese government “to pursue a holistic approach to addressing these challenges within the framework of the on-going constitutional review process in an inclusive manner, with the support of and coordination with the AU High Level Implementation Panel (AUHIP)”.
In a report to the PSC released on 30 November 2011, the AUHIP stressed that after the secession of the South Sudan the “Darfur peace process will, of necessity, be linked to a national constitutional reform Process that involves all citizens of the Republic of Sudan in forging a new national political settlement.”
In turn, the panel emphasised on the need for “a holistic agreement among Darfurians be an integral part of a national process”.
The African panel led by former South African president Thabo Mbeki brokers peace talks between the Sudanese government and the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement –North (SPLM-M). The process is stalled by difference over the agenda of the talks and rebels demand for a humanitarian access.
In his report to the UN Security Council which is expected to renew UNAMID mandate for another by the end of this month; it is reported that the head of the hybrid mission Mohamed Ibn Chambas met last May in Kampala with the three rebel groups which did not sign the DDPD.
According to the report, the rebel groups welcomed Chambas’s initiative to revive the peace process and agreed to meet with the Joint Chief Mediator after the month of Ramadan which terminates on 7 August.
Also, Chambas met with the Chadian, Tanzanian and Ugandan leaders who underlined the need for an all-inclusive approach for the achievement of durable peace in Darfur.
Regarding the implementation of the DDPD, UNAMID’s report relates the political and security’ difficulties facing the implementation of the peace framework document, and urges the international community to provide $3.6 billion for the implementation of Darfur Development Strategy.
(ST)