El Fasher, 17 May 2010 – Over fifty representatives of the UN Country Team, multilateral and bilateral development agencies, and UNAMID met yesterday at the Mission’s headquarters in El Fasher, North Darfur. This meeting, the first of its kind, brought together officials from the development and humanitarian community operating in the Sudan and in Darfur, notably from what is known as the UN country Team, which includes all the UN agencies, funds and organizations operating in the region.

The meeting was co-chaired by UNAMID Joint Special Representative (JSR) Ibrahim Gambari and UNMIS Deputy Special Representative, Resident Humanitarian Coordinator in the Sudan, Georg Charpentier. It provided a unique forum for all the development and humanitarian actors in Darfur to outline the various roles and strengths of their respective organizations and exchange ideas on how to improve collaboration and address common challenges.

The participants discussed the recent security and political developments in the region, including the draw-down of MINURCAT, the UN Peacekeeping Mission in Chad, and the latest clashes between the Sudanese forces and the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM), and their impact on the provision of humanitarian assistance to those in need. They also identified key areas of cooperation such as education, water, the protection of civilians, and helping those displaced by the conflict to voluntarily return to productive livelihoods in an atmosphere of peace and security.

“We must, at all times be guided by the fact that we are here to serve the people of Darfur, in all aspects,” said the JSR, emphasizing the need for increased cooperation within the humanitarian community to “employ resources more effectively, in a more coordinated fashion and add to each other’s strengths.”

The meeting emphasized the need for an all-inclusive peace agreement to help stabilize the region and promote an atmosphere conducive to early recovery and development.