UN / SUDAN

Joint AU / UN mediator for Darfur Djibril Bassolé tells the Security Council that in order to achieve "definite and lasting peace in Darfur" it is imperative to obtain "the accession of all our movements without any exceptions to the peace negotiations." UNTV

• Categories: News & Features / News Stories / Unifeed
• Production Date: 14 June 2010
• Asset Language: Original
• Subject Topical: POLITICAL AFFAIRS; LAW; INTERNATIONAL LAW; POLITICAL CONDITIONS; POLITICAL CONDITIONS; POLITICAL MOVEMENTS; INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS; PEACE AND SECURITY
• Geographic Subject: SUDAN
• MAMS Id: U100614c

Description

STORY: UN / SUDAN
TRT: 2.29
SOURCE: UNTV
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / FRENCH/ NATS

DATELINE: 14 JUNE 2010, NEW YORK CITY / FILE

Shotlist

FILE – RECENT, NEW YORK CITY

1. Wide shot, exterior United Nations headquarters

14 JUNE 2010, NEW YORK CITY

2. Wide shot, Security Council
3. Med shot, delegates
4. SOUNDBITE (English) Thabo Mbeki, Chairperson of the African Union High Level Panel on Darfur:
“As the Council is aware the May 8 meeting agreed with the AU and the UN that the global political agreement on Darfur should be concluded this year, ahead of the holding of the South Sudan referendum. And I am happy to say that the government of Sudan has agreed to this proposal. Accordingly as did the May 7 and 8 Addis Ababa meetings, we fully support the Doha negotiations which are focused specifically at concluding a peace agreement involving all the belligerents as well as the framework agreement.”
5. Med shot, delegates
6. SOUNDBITE (English) Haile Menkeiros, Special Representative of the Secretary-General for the Sudan:
“So far, the parties have maintained progress in CPA implementation without major breakdowns emerging from the recent elections with parallel victories. As they approach the end of the implementation period, the stakes are higher as they face the outcomes in the referenda and the final phases of the 2005 peace agreement. Mr. President, the path ahead is certainly not without challenges.”
7. Med shot, delegates
8. SOUNDBITE (English) Haile Menkeiros, Special Representative of the Secretary-General for the Sudan:
“Unity and secession do not need to be a zero sum game for the north and the south. It is thus advisable for the two sides to continue to cooperate for their mutual benefit whether in unity or in separation. The goal of making unity attractive therefore should be a long term goal, irrespective of the outcome.”
9. Med shot, delegates
10. SOUNDBITE (English) Ibrahim Gambari, Joint African Union-United Nations Special Representative for Darfur:
“It saddens me to inform you that the fighting between the two belligerent parties is still continuing and the security situation in parts of Darfur remains tense and volatile. Following JEM’s withdrawal from the Jebel Moon area, JEM forces are now spread in small pockets in North and South Darfur, notably in the areas towards Southern Kordofan engaging the government forces in offensive and defensive clashes.”
11. Med shot, delegates
12. SOUNDBITE (French) Djibril Bassolé, Joint African Union-United Nations Chief Mediator for Darfur:
“To achieve definitive and lasting peace in Darfur, it is imperative to obtain the accession of all armed movements – without any exception – to the peace negotiations.”
13. Wide shot, Security Council

Storyline

United Nations (UN) and African Union (AU) officials told the Security Council today (14 January) that despite progress, the peace process in Darfur is being threatened by a recent upsurge of violence.

Addressing the Council, the Chairperson of the AU High Level Panel on Darfur Thabo Mbeki, said that he expected the global political agreement on Darfur to be concluded this year, ahead of the holding of the South Sudan referendum. He announced that “the government of Sudan has agreed to this proposal”.

Mbeki added that the AU fully supports the Doha negotiations “which are focused specifically at concluding a peace agreement involving all the belligerents as well as the framework agreement.”

The Special Representative of the Secretary-General for the Sudan Haile Menkeiros noted that the parties have so far “maintained progress” in the implementation of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) “without major breakdowns”, following the recent round of elections, which produced “parallel victories”.

He said the “stakes are higher” as the implementation period comes to an end, and stressed that “the path ahead is certainly not without challenges.”

Menkeiros said that “unity and secession do not need to be a zero sum game for the north and the south” and advised the two sides “to continue to cooperate for their mutual benefit whether in unity or in separation”. He said that unity should remain “a long term goal, irrespective of the outcome.”

Ibrahim Gambari, Joint AU-UN Special Representative for Darfur expressed sadness over renewed fighting between the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) and government forces, which have killed 447 people in the month of May alone.

He said that “the security situation in parts of Darfur remains tense and volatile” .

Djibril Bassolé, Joint AU-UN Chief Mediator for Darfur said that in order to achieve “definitive and lasting peace in Darfur”, all armed movements, “without any exception, must be included in the peace negotiations.

On Friday, the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) Luis Moreno-Ocampo told the Security Council that facts show that war crimes are still taking place in Darfur, seven years after fighting between Government forces, allied militiamen known as the Janjaweed and rebel groups first flared.