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.