UN urges action on Sudan
2010-06-15 09:43
New York - The UN Security Council on Monday strongly backed efforts to achieve a peace agreement in Darfur by the end of the year and called for Sudan's Arab-dominated north and black African south to settle their disputes ahead of January's referendum on independence for the south.
The council heard briefings by the top envoys and mediators for the United Nations and the African Union who have been dealing with the two separate conflicts in Africa's largest country.
At a joint forum in early May, the AU and the UN agreed to co-ordinate international action on Sudan and decided that an overall political and peace agreement in Darfur should be concluded this year, ahead of the January 9 referendum on the future of South Sudan.
Former South African president Thabo Mbeki, who chairs the AU High Level Implementation Panel for Sudan, called on the council to send "strong messages" to all parties to resolve differences and support peace efforts.
The referendum is part of a 2005 peace deal that ended a 21-year civil war between the north and the south in which two million people died. Salva Kiir, the leader of southern Sudan which was devastated during the war, has called on residents to vote for secession.
The separate conflict in Darfur began with a 2003 rebellion by groups who accused the government of neglecting the vast western desert region. The UN estimates that some 300 000 people have died as a result of violence, disease and displacement since the fighting began.
In a press statement, the Security Council expressed "grave concern" at the recent upsurge in fighting in western Darfur, called for an end to the violence, and urged all rebel groups to "engage constructively" in peace negotiations which are scheduled to resume this month in Doha, Qatar.
Ibrahim Gambari, the joint UN-AU representative in Darfur, told the council that 447 people died in fighting in May between rebels from the Justice and Equality Movement and government forces, and "it is expected that the military confrontations may continue for some time unless urgent efforts at ensuring a cease-fire are made by the international community".
Vote for separation
The recent upsurge in fighting, which has displaced between 10 000 and 50 000 people, has also created "very serious hindrances" for the more than 20 000-strong UN-AU peacekeeping force trying to carry out its mandate of protecting civilians in Darfur, he said.
"It is essential to reiterate to all the belligerent parties that there can be no military solution to the Darfur crisis and a return to negotiations is the only viable option," Gambari said.
The Security Council also underlined the importance of fully implementing the 2005 peace agreement and called for "timely preparations" for the referendum and negotiations on post-referendum issues.
Haile Menkerios, the top UN envoy overseeing north-south issues, said both sides must continue co-operating whatever the outcome of the referendum, stressing that a vote for "separation should not be considered a divorce".
He said key tasks that must be resolved include settling the disputed north-south border and the formation of commissions to conduct referendums in South Sudan and the disputed oil-rich border area of Abyei.
"I believe that if the parties act and cooperate on their commitments with the sense of urgency the situation calls for, a timely conduct of the referenda is possible, albeit challenging," he told the council, noting that "the security situation around much of the border and withinsouthern Sudan remains of great concern."
Mbeki said when he returns to Sudan later this month his panel will engage Sudanese government officials with the aim of agreeing on how to achieve justice and reconciliation in Darfur before a major Darfur conference "targeted at achieving a global political agreement".
As for north-south issues, he said the first meeting of teams that will negotiate post-referendum arrangements will be held June 21.
- SAPA
