UN peacekeeping chief hopes for new era in Sudan’s Darfur

Fiji has officers based with the United Nations and African Union Mission in Darfur (UNAMID).

New York: UN UndersecretaryGeneral for Peace Operations Jean-Pierre Lacroix expressed the hope that a new peace agreement between the government and armed groups would usher in a new era in Sudan’s Darfur region. But he warned that much work remains to be done. The initialling of a peace agreement on August 31 in Juba, South Sudan, between the transitional government of Sudan and the Sudan Revolutionary Front, as well as the Sudan Liberation ArmyMinni Minnawi is an important milestone in the often-troubled history of Darfur, signifying hope for a more peaceful and prosperous future, Mr Lacroix told the Security Council.

He commended the parties for their commitment to peace, as well as South Sudan for its critical role in mediating the agreement.

“As we meet here today, we are only just over a week away from the scheduled signing ceremony, and the start of a new era for Darfur,” he said in his briefing. However, much work remains to ensure that the goodwill shown in the negotiating process is translated into lasting and sustainable change on the ground, he said.

Key players, including the Sudan Liberation Army of Abdul Wahid (SLA/AW), are yet to join the process.

The agreements, still a patchwork of documents negotiated on different tracks, are yet to be woven together into a single, unfractured vision of the future of Sudan.

With continued armed clashes and protests in Darfur that signals the anxiety of Darfuri constituencies on the decisions being made in Khartoum and Juba, the international community must work together to bring all stakeholders on board and work toward preventing a relapse into conflict, said Mr Lacroix.

Furthermore, the implementation phase will be just as crucial as the drafting of the agreement itself. This includes, as one of the key provisions of the security arrangements for Darfur, the creation of a 12,000-person joint security force within 90 days of the agreement’s signing, made up of 6000 members from Sudanese security forces and 6000 from the signatory armed groups.