Statement by the Joint Chief Mediator ad interim, Ibrahim Gambari, to the inaugural meeting of the Implementation Follow-Up Committee of the Doha Document for Peace in Dafur

1.    It is indeed a privilege to have this opportunity to join the Chairman in welcoming fellow participants to this inaugural meeting of the Implementation Follow-Up Committee (IFC). Your impressive turn out at this meeting would greatly reassure the parties and the people in Darfur of the commitment and the support of international partners to fully support the parties in the faithful implementation of the Doha Document for Peace in Darfur (DDPD). Your presence is also a source of encouragement to UNAMID in its mandated tasks.

2.    I would like to thank the Chairman and indeed the Government of State of Qatar for hosting this meeting and for the very warm and generous hospitality extended to my delegation and I since our arrival here in Doha. Let me also commend my predecessor, Minister Djibril Bassole, for his commitment and dedication which brought us here today.

3.    As our meeting to promote and consolidate peace in Darfur coincides with the thenth anniversary of the 9/11 event in the USA, I wish to on behalf of the United Nations and the African Union re-affirm our condemnation of all acts of terrorism and express our Deep solidarity with the families of the victims of the 9/11 attack.

Mr. Chairman and distinguished participants,

4.    As you are aware, UNAMID is mandated to support the full implementation of Security Council Resolution 1769 and the Darfur Peace Agreement (DPA), and any subsequent agreement such as the Doha Document for Peace in Darfur (DDPD).

5.    The Agreement which was signed on 14 July by the Government of Sudan (GoS) and the Liberation and Justice Movement (LJM) in the context of the DDPD, is a significant milestone on the path to comprehensive and lasting peace in Darfur. I congratulate the parties once again for this achievement and reaffirm UNAMID’s readiness to work with them and international partners to support the implementation of the DDPD. In this regard, I would like to acknowledge the unwavering support and leadership of Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon and Chairman Jean Ping to UNAMID in the implementation of our mandates.

Mr. Chairman, distinguished participants,

6.    The conclusion of the DDPD between the Government of Sudan and the LJM is much more than a significant milestone: it actualizes the yearning of the people of Darfur to live in a peaceful and secure environment, and provides guarantees for their greater participation in the governance of the country and region; and it debunks the widely held view that the conflict in Darfur is intractable and defies solutions. The Agreement also gives hope that a permanent ceasefire and comprehensive and lasting peace in Darfur are indeed realizable objectives.

7.    The DDPD must be implemented faithfully and in a timely manner. In doing so, it would serve as a litmus test for the viability of comprehensive and inclusive peace in Darfur. It is also my sincere hope that this would have a positive bearing on the creation of an enabling environment for the internal political process in Darfur and encourage hold out movements to shun further armed aggression and embrace the peace process. The timely and faithful implementation of the provisions of all aspects of the DDPD would also open up the vista for several early recovery and development projects and reconciliation initiatives which would address the root causes of the conflict in Darfur and ensure the attainment of lasting peace and stability in the region.

8.    I would therefore like to appeal to the parties and all members of the IFC to bear this in mind as we go along the path of the implementation of the DDPD. The road ahead would be challenging but we must remain focused on the lofty goals to be achieved in the interest of the people of Darfur who have suffered too deeply and for far too long. My sincere hope is that at the end of this meeting, we should have established a clear plan to support, monitor and encourage the parties in the implementation of all the aspects of DDPD in addition to identifying the best approaches to dealing with those armed groups that remain outside of the peace process.

9.    Meanwhile I wish to commend the sustained support and unwavering determination of the State of Qatar and the international partners to find solutions to lasting peace in Darfur. However, in order for these efforts to bear the desired fruits and help the people of Darfur, the partners must speak with one voice, particularly to condemn those who continue to pose threats to the peaceful resolution of the conflict and to acknowledge, reward and encourage those who show promising signs of keeping the peace and engaging in the process. 

10.    I wish all of us fruitful deliberations and thank you for listening.