DDDC Sudan: Darfur civil society to participate in Doha peace talks

Source: Darfur Darfur Dialogue & Consultation (DDDC)
Date: 11 Nov 2009 (with thanks to ReliefWeb)

KHARTOUM, SUDAN – For a host of reasons, feeding the views of Darfur civil society into the Darfur peace process has been a challenge. A recent breakthrough in the ongoing Doha Darfur peace talks, however, has created a civil society track that has long been absent.

The Technical Workshop on Darfur Peace held in Doha, Qatar, October 12 – 14, 2009, and co–chaired by Qatari State Minister for Foreign Affairs, Ahmed bin Abdalla Al–Mahmoud, and the head of the African Union – United Nation's Joint Mediation Support Team (JMST), Ambassador Djibril Bassolé, "to discuss and propose the best ways to accelerate the peace process to reach a comprehensive resolution for the conflict in Darfur," adopted a plan of action that recognized the key role of and called for input from Darfur civil society.

As a result, JMST, in partnership with the Darfur–Darfur Dialogue and Consultation (DDDC), the United Nation – African Union Mission in Darfur (UNAMID) Civil Affairs Department (CAD), Gender Advisory Unit (GAU), and other UN bodies, established and is leading a multi–faceted process through which representatives from Darfur civil society can directly contribute their views on achieving peace in Darfur to the Doha peace talks.

During the past several weeks, more than 200 Darfurian tribal leaders and chiefs and civil society representatives from all sectors of society, including Internally Displaced Persons (IDP), Arab nomads, women, and youth, have attended preparatory workshops in North, South, and West Darfur. These workshops have been tailored to enable participants, all of who were selected by their peers, to discuss and formulate how they envision the role of civil society in the Darfur peace process and decide on the issues they want to address in Doha. Each workshop has produced recommendations, which select participants will present in Doha.

Prior to gathering in Doha on November 16, 2009, for the four–day conference, which has been described as the "commencement of the Darfur peace process," the civil society representatives will have the opportunity to further unify their positions, consolidate their recommendations, and learn more about what is expected to take place in Doha.

The DDDC is an autonomous, inclusive, non–partisan process mandated to enable Darfurians to voice their opinions and views to achieve sustainable peace and reconciliation in Darfur.

Seeking peace and reconciliation through dialogue and mediation to resolve conflict within and between communities is a deeply rooted Darfurian tradition. By engaging conflicting groups, restoring confidence, building trust, and promoting open and transparent dialogue to overcome grievances and agree on common grounds to achieve sustainable peace, the DDDC is a continuation of this tradition.

For further information, contact Joel Frushone, frushone@dddc.org.

For DDDC news, reports, events, initiatives, to comment, and more, visit www.dddc.org