FRESH ROUND OF UN-BACKED DARFUR PEACE TALKS TO START NEXT MONTH

United Nations-backed mediation talks aimed at resolving the long-running conflict in Darfur between the Sudanese Government and the region's armed movements will resume late next month, it was announced today.

The talks will not start until the last week of October, given the time needed for the many armed movements to complete discussions on their possible unification for the peace process, according to a communiqué issued by the joint African Union-UN peacekeeping force in Darfur (known as UNAMID).

Today's communiqué follows consultations in Doha, between Djibril Bassolé, the AU-UN Joint Chief Mediator for Darfur, and Ahmed Bin Abdullah Al-Mahmoud, the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs in Qatar, which has been sponsoring the mediation efforts.

Mr. Bassolé and Mr. Al-Mahmoud have invited the armed movements to take part in a capacity-building workshop in Doha in early October so they can discuss issues related to the peace process, including how to improve security for Darfur's inhabitants and how to boost socio-economic development in the region.

Mr. Bassolé and Mr. Al-Mahmoud have also agreed to organize a civil society forum in Doha before the start of final peace talks to allow the many Darfurian communities to discuss peace and reconciliation efforts.

Fighting has raged across the western Sudanese region since 2003, pitting the rebel movements against Government forces and allied Janjaweed militiamen. All sides stand accused of human rights abuses and an estimated 300,000 people have been killed in Darfur over the past six years and another 2.7 million people forced to leave their homes.

The efforts of mediators have been hampered by the fragmentation of the rebel movements into many different, smaller groups, making it harder for them to adopt a unified position during any negotiations.

In February, representatives of the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) signed the Doha Goodwill Agreement with the Sudanese Government in an initial step designed to build momentum towards an enduring peace pact.

Today Mr. Bassolé and Mr. Al-Mahmoud welcomed recent initiatives in Libya and by the United States envoy, General Scott Gration, to try to unify the armed movements, and voiced hope that they would lead to greater cohesion among the rebels.

Meanwhile, the outgoing head of UNAMID has urged all Darfurians to come together to resolve the conflict in their region.

In an open letter to the people of Darfur, Rodolphe Adada, who is stepping down as the AU-UN Joint Special Representative, said he remained convinced that "our collective efforts will bear fruit in the near future and the situation in Darfur will gradually evolve from armed conflict to cessation of hostilities to achievement of peace and finally reach the realm of sustainable development."

DARFUR: UN, SUDAN ASSESS HUMANITARIAN NEEDS AFTER OUSTER OF AID GROUPS

DARFUR: UN, SUDAN ASSESS HUMANITARIAN NEEDS AFTER OUSTER OF AID GROUPS
New York, Mar 11 2009 6:00PM

A joint United Nations and Sudanese Government mission to evaluate the need for food, water, health and emergency shelter in Darfur commenced today, as the humanitarian community attempts to recover from the expulsion of 13 major aid groups assisting some 4.7 million people.

The expulsions started immediately after the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant for Sudanese President Omar Al-Bashir for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in Darfur.

As of 10 March, 183 international staff of the affected non-governmental organizations (NGOs) had already left the country, with others awaiting exit visas to depart, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

A UN spokesperson in New York said today that in addition to Darfur other areas of North Sudan would be deeply affected by the expulsions.

For example, Abyei, Blue Nile State, and Southern Kordofan State were located on the front lines of the North-South civil war and some of the expelled NGOs had provided health, nutrition, water, sanitation, education, food security, and other assistance to hundreds of thousands of people there.

In addition, concern for the safety of all humanitarian staff continues following repeated incidents of intimidation and harassment and reported efforts to confiscate NGO, UN, and donor-owned equipment.

The UN has requested the Government of Sudan to return all confiscated items, UN Spokesperson Marie Okabe said.

Meanwhile, the African Union-UN mission in Darfur (UNAMID) reports that a peaceful demonstration made up mostly of youth and labour movement figures took place today in Nyala, South Darfur, condemning the ICC decision to indict President Al-Bashir.

Despite being hit by another carjacking last night, UNAMID said its operations proceeded normally today, conducting 51 military and 96 police patrols around villages and displaced persons camps in the past 24 hours.

At the same time, there has been some diplomatic activity on Darfur, Ms. Okabe said, reporting that representatives of the Government of Sudan and the rebel Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) recommitted themselves to a negotiated settlement to the conflict, at a meeting in Doha, Qatar, facilitated by UN-AU Joint Chief Mediator Djibril Bassolé.

Mr. Bassolé intends to meet with the representatives of other rebel movements and regional countries in the coming days in an effort to broaden the participation in the Doha talks.

He is scheduled to brief the Security Council on the Darfur political process on 26 March.
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