Security Council urges speedy, full settlement to Sudan's Darfur crisis
With peace talks between the Sudanese Government and rebel factions based in the western Darfur region set to reopen on 15 September in Abuja, Nigeria, the United Nations Security Council today strongly urged the parties to quickly reach agreement to end the two-year civil war that has killed nearly 180,000 people and driven more than 2 million from their homes.
With peace talks between the Sudanese Government and rebel factions based in the western Darfur region set to reopen on 15 September in Abuja, Nigeria, the United Nations Security Council today strongly urged the parties to quickly reach agreement to end the two-year civil war that has killed nearly 180,000 people and driven more than 2 million from their homes.
“Only through a political solution can a durable peace and reconciliation be achieved in Darfur,” said Ambassador Kenzo Oshima of Japan, which holds the Council’s rotating presidency for the month of August, reading a statement to the press following closed-door consultations on the African Union (AU) led peace talks.
The Council urged the Sudan Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A), the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) and the Sudanese Government to negotiate “constructively and urgently” to reach an agreement during the talks, which were suspended in early July after the parties signed a "declaration of principles" aimed at ending large scale fighting in Darfur.
The Council expressed support for that agreement, which Mr. Oshima said serves as a framework for further good-faith dialogue on more extensive negotiations pertaining to wealth- and power-sharing as part of a comprehensive settlement to the crisis in Darfur.
“The members of the Security Council hope that the example set by the Comprehensive Peace Agreement reached at Naivasha for North-South reconciliation will have a positive impact on the Abuja Talks and on the future of Darfur within a stable and united Sudan,” he added, referring to the peace deal which in January ended a separate, two-decade war between southern-based rebels and the Government.
The Darfur conflict erupted in February 2003 when the two rebel groups demanded an end to economic marginalization and sought power-sharing within the Sudanese state.
Meanwhile, on the ground, the UN Mission in Sudan (UNMIS) reported that deputy mission chief Tayé Zerihoun met today with Salim Ahmed Salim, AU mediator for the talks. Their discussions focused on the ongoing preparations for negotiations, which will tackle the issues of power-sharing, wealth sharing and security arrangements.