TEXT-AU urges Sudanese parties in Darfur talks to halt fighting

ABBDIS ABABA, Dec 13, 2004 (Sudan Tribune) — The representative of the head of AU Commission, Amb Sam Ibok urged the Sudanese parties to put an end to ceasefire violations, and to adopt a Declaration of principles on the resolution of the conflict.

He said, “a meeting of the Joint Commission will be held on the margins of this session, as was envisaged after the N’djamena Meeting last month”. This commission is invited to” review the implementation of the decisions that were taken in N’djamena, particularly with respect to the identification of the location of the forces of the Movements by the Ceasefire Commission, and a time frame to be submitted by the Government of the Sudan for the disarmament and neutralization of the Janjaweed/militia in Darfur”.

He warned “The patience of the international community is not limitless, neither are the resources that are being put up to bring peace to Darfur”.

“There will also be a discussion on the linkages between the Abuja and Naïvasha processes”, the AU representative said.

He also, invited them to conclude the negotiations before December 22.

The following is the text of speech made by Ambassador Sam b. Ibok, representative of the Chairperson of the AU Commission at the opining session of the Fourth Round of the Inter-Sudanese Peace Talks on Darfur in Abuja Nigeria, Saturday December 11, 2004:

– Hon Ministers,
– Your Excellency Ambassador Allam-Mi, Co-Chair of the Talks,
– Dear Friends from the Sudan,
– The distinguished Representative of the Chairman of the AU,
– Distinguished Representatives of the Chadian Mediation Facilitators, Partners, Observers and Invited guests,
– Excellencies,
– Ladies and Gentlemen,

I wish, on behalf of President Alpha Oumar Konare, Chairperson of the AU Commission, to welcome you all to this Round of the Inter-Sudanese Peace Talks on Darfur. I should like, at the outset, to express appreciation to H.E. Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and Chairman of the African Union, the Government and People of Nigeria, for the warm welcome and hospitality, that was extended to all the Delegations, as well as the facilities placed at our disposal during this session. We are grateful for all the efforts that were made to facilitate our meeting here today.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

We are reconvening in Abuja for the 4th Round under extremely difficult circumstances when there are all Round concerns about the state of affairs in Darfur. I refer to the deteriorating political, security and humanitarian situation on the ground. The frequent violations of all the Agreements signed by our Sudanese friends, have combined to create a state of insecurity in Darfur. The net effect is that suffering continues unabated in Darfur. This is also undermining the level of confidence between the Parties as a result of mutual and high level of suspicious. The most unfortunate part of this sad development is that the suffering is unwittingly being inflicted on the unfortunate victims in Darfur, by the very people who have undertaken to protect them and to work and defend their well-being giving an impression of either inability or unwillingness to pacify the situation. The spate of attacks, counter attacks and retaliation have reached unacceptable levels and require the concrete and specific actions of the Parties to end.

You will recall that during the closing ceremonies of the last Round, President Obasanjo, on behalf of the continent of Africa, our Partners and the AU Commission, extended well deserved congratulations to the Sudanese parties, who had risen above all the difficulties to sign two Protocols on the humanitarian and security situations in Darfur. At the time, we shared a sense of optimism that the signing of the two Protocols, would herald a new beginning for peace, security and stability in Darfur and the beginning of the end of the long suffering of the ordinary and vulnerable people of Darfur. Regrettably, even before the ink had dried on the signed documents, the SLM/A launched attacks on several places in North and South Darfur. Only a few days ago, on the eve of this round of the Talks the Government of the Sudan launched an attack on Bilel and Isham against the expressed appeals of the chairman of the CFC. These violations have been condemned by the AU and the wider international community as constituting serious violations of the N’djamena Agreements and the two Protocols recently signed. They have succeeded in poisoning the atmosphere for these round of our Talks at a time that there is no compelling reason for them to take place.

But we must avoid being complacent or indulging in the blame game. We must move beyond mere condemnation to taking concrete and appropriate actions to end these violations and to put in place measures that would make it unattractive for any Party to continue to breach the Agreements signed. The African Union wishes to draw the attention of the Sudanese Parties to the fact that enormous resources and time are being deployed to end the tragedy in Darfur. But let us not deceive ourselves. The patience of the international community is not limitless, neither are the resources that are being put up to bring peace to Darfur. I wish, in the name of President Alpha Oumar Konare and in the name of Africa our continent, to strongly appeal to our Sudanese brothers to help us to put an end to the suffering in Darfur. By participating in these Talks voluntarily, the Government of the Sudan, the SLM/A and the JEM, had signaled their determination to end the tragedy in Darfur. We do not doubt your good intentions, but your actions on the ground have left us wondering whether you have really abandoned the logic of war for the logic of peace in Darfur. Let us be clear, war will not resolve the problem in Darfur, because it is not a military problem in the first place. Darfur is largely a political problem with many complex dimensions and it will take only dialogue, patience compromise and tolerance to resolve.

The African Union wants to work with you to put an end to the conflict. We plead with our brothers and sisters in Sudan to help us in cooperating with its Mission on the ground. The AU is deploying every effort to fully operationalize its Mission in Darfur. Most importantly, the AU strongly appeals to the GoS, the SLM/A and JEM to fully honor their commitments under the Agreements that they have already signed, so that the Mission in Darfur can accomplish its mandate.

In this regard, we intend after consultations with the Chadian mediation and Chairman of the Joint Commission, to convene a meeting of the Commission on the margins of this session of the Inter-Sudanese Peace Talks on the Darfur, as was envisaged after the N’djamena Meeting last month. It is our hope that the Joint Commission would be able to review the implementation of the decisions that were taken in N’djamena, particularly with respect to the identification of the location of the forces of the Movements by the Ceasefire Commission, and a time frame to be submitted by the Government of the Sudan for the disarmament and neutralization of the Janjaweed/militia in Darfur.

I should like now to briefly highlight the agenda for this 4th Round of our Talks. This will essentially cover 4 important items including a review and exchange of views on the situation in the ground, especially as it relates to the incessant violations of the N’djamena Humanitarian Ceasefire Agreement and the two Protocols that were signed here in Abuja during the last Round. Secondly, we hope to speedily conclude discussions on and possibly sign the Declaration of Principles that was almost finalized during the last Round. We hope that the Parties will cooperate to ensure that this item would be quickly addressed given that there was a near consensus on it when it was last considered.

Thirdly, following the adoption of the DoP, the Parties will be provided with an opportunity to express their vision on the issues that are contained in the DoP. There will also be a discussion on the linkages between the Abuja and Naïvasha processes. At the end of that process, the mediation hopes to submit to the Parties a comprehensive framework document that would constitute the envisaged final agreement on the situation in Darfur. It is our hope that we shall be able to conclude this Round of the Talks before or at the latest by the 22nd of December 2004.

Your Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

I should like to conclude these opening remarks by once again expressing appreciation to the Government of the Sudan, the SLM/A and JEM for the cooperation that they continue to extend to the African Union and the Mediation Team. It is our hope that during this Round of the Talks that cooperation will continue so that we can rapidly accomplish the full objectives that have been identified for this session. I should also like to thank His Excellency President Idriss Deby of Chad and his Government, our Partners, the Facilitators from Libya and Nigeria, the Observers from the League of Arab States, the UN, the US, Canada and Member countries of the European Union, as well as all those who continue to support the African Union both on the ground in Darfur and in this Abuja process.

It is now my singular honour on behalf of the chairperson of the African Union, to declare this Round of the Inter-Sudanese Peace Talks on Darfur, formally open and I thank you for your attention.