PRESS RELEASE NO. 027/2004
Welcomes
The signing of the agreement on Darfur
The Chairperson of the Commission of the African Union, Mr Alpha Oumar
Konare, welcomes the signing, today, in N'djamena, Chad, of the Humanitarian
Ceasefire Agreement between the Government of the Sudan (GoS), on the one
hand, the Sudan Liberation Army (SLA) and the Justice and Equality Movement
JEM), on the other.
The Chairperson of the Commission commends the parties for the political
will, flexibility and spirit of compromise they have shown. He also
congratulates President Idriss Deby for devoting time and resources to
ensure the successful conclusion of the negotiation, as well as the
Mediation Team.
The Chairperson of the Commission urges the international community to
provide quickly the much needed humanitarian assistance to those affected,
especially the internally displaced persons and the refugees.
He urges the parties to live up to the commitments entered into and to
reconvene very soon to discuss and agree on a comprehensive peace agreement
to end the conflict in the Darfur. He strongly appeals to the parties to
ensure that all elements under their control comply with the terms of the
Agreement.
The Chairperson stresses that the AU, which was involved in the
negotiations, stands ready to work with all the parties and the Chadian
Mediation Team, to expeditiously put in place the Ceasefire Commission
provided for in the Agreement. He is confident that the AU Member States,
which fully support the ongoing peace process, will contribute to the
implementation of the Agreement.
Addis Ababa, 8 April 2004.