The Prime Minister and Foreign Minister H E Sheikh Hamad bin Jassem bin Jabor Al Thani applauds as officials exchange documents after the signing of a final peace agreement between the Sudanese government and the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) at the Ritz-Carlton in Doha, yesterday. Sudanese Vice President Ali Osman Taha, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of State for Cabinet Affairs H E Ahmed bin Abdullah Al Mahmoud, Head of the Darfur Regional Authority Al Tijani El Sisi and a number of high level officials attended the signing ceremony.
DOHA: The Sudanese government and a leading Darfur rebel group the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) signed a peace agreement here yesterday at the end of intensive negotiations brokered by Qatar and the African Union-UN Joint Mediation.
The Prime Minister and Foreign Minister H E Sheikh Hamad bin Jassem bin Jabor Al Thani described the deal as an important step saying it signals the end of war in Darfur. He called on other movements to join the peace process.
The agreement was signed on the basis of the Doha Document for Peace in Darfur and follows a ceasefire agreement between the two parties signed on February 10 this year and a protocol on the participation of the JEM at the Different Levels of Government and on the Integration of its Forces, signed on March 29.
Sudanese Vice President Ali Osman Taha, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of State for Cabinet Affairs H E Ahmed bin Abdullah Al Mahmoud, Head of the Darfur Regional Authority Al Tijani El Sisi, Mohamed Ibn Chambas, AU-UN Joint Special Representative for Darfur and Joint Chief Mediator and Aichatou S Mindaoudou, Deputy Joint Special Representative of Sudan were present at the signing ceremony, among other senior diplomats.
The agreement was signed on behalf of the Sudanese government by Minister of State at the Presidency and Head of the Doha Document for Peace in Darfur (DDPD) implementation follow-up office Amin Hassan Omar, and by the Justice and Equality Movement Chairman Mohamed Bishr Ahmad.
The Prime Minister said that the mediation had exerted all possible efforts to identify the root causes of the conflict and called on all movements without exception to join the peace process and create a platform for negotiation.
He also urged them to organize conferences that provide the opportunity for the people of Darfur to propose their perceptions of the solution and to participate in the peace making.
He said that the Justice and Equality Movement signed the agreement with the government based on the Doha document. Since then the implementation has been going at a satisfactory pace leading to the stability visible in Darfur now, he added. The JEM is now working to complete the peace process in Darfur, considering that as a big gain for Sudan and the peace document, said the Prime Minister adding that signing the agreement is a strong step to establish peace and security in Darfur.
The Prime Minister underscored the necessity of addressing the urgent humanitarian needs of displaced persons and refugees from Darfur. “We look forward to see that the international donors conference for the reconstruction and development in Darfur, due to be held tomorrow here in Doha, presents an effective start to the process of reconstruction and development in Darfur in accordance with the plans submitted to the Conference,” said the Prime Minister.
The Peninsula
