Security situation in Darfur 11 March 2010 - UNAMID brings together leaders in South Darfur on Doha Declaration

EL FASHER (DARFUR), Sudan, March 11, 2010/APO
UNAMID Daily Media Brief / 2010-03-11

Security situation in Darfur
The security situation in Darfur remains relatively calm. UNAMID is continuing to monitor developments in and around Jebel Marra, and is intensifying patrols of the surrounding areas, especially in Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camps.

UNAMID military forces conducted 115 patrols including routine, short range, long range, night, and Humanitarian escort patrols, covering 109 villages and Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camps during the reporting period.

UNAMID police advisors also conducted 117 patrols in villages and IDP camps

UNAMID brings together leaders in South Darfur on Doha Declaration
Today witnessed a gathering of 140 female community leaders from all over the state at Nyala University in South Darfur to review issues brought up by Darfur civil society organizations in Doha.

This is one of several working sessions organized by UNAMID’s substantive components aimed at providing a platform for community leaders and government officials to exchange views on the Doha declaration.

Among the many topics covered were power-sharing, compensation, land issues and security arrangements. The participants are expected to come up with a number of recommendations on these issues by the end of the two-day session.

This comes in addition to a workshop held yesterday in collaboration with the Darfur-Darfur Dialogue and Consultation (DDDC) for a number of state government representatives, police officials and civil society leaders. Participants came together to discuss the declaration and pledge their support for the peace process.

SOURCE: United Nations – African Union Mission in Darfur (UNAMID)

Darfur Sudan: The media keeps missing the importance of the Doha consultations and Declaration

People are asking why the media keeps missing the importance of the Doha consultations and Declaration.

From Alex de Waal's blog Making Sense of Darfur
Friday, December 4, 2009
Civil Society and Doha: Where Next?
By Julie Flint

It is disappointing how little attention there has been, including on this blog, to the civil society conference in Doha in mid-November, the first such meeting held under the auspices of the succeeding Mediations. Two weeks on, the only version of the final Doha Declaration I have seen comes (predictably) not from the mediators, who are no better at informing Darfurians of their work than their predecessors in Abuja were, but from one of those present, Ali B. Ali-Dinar, who posted it on the Sudan Tribune.

In just three days, representatives of the three states of Darfur, including from Khartoum and the diaspora, succeeding in doing what the armed movements continue to fail to do—agree on a single, unified position paper. What is striking about the conference is how intensively ‘ordinary’ Darfurians had prepared for it and how, once in Doha, they re-worked the plan presented to them by the Mediation (see Ali’s account on Sudan Tribune for this). The four topics tabled for discussion (land, power-sharing, civil society, general issues) immediately became seven, with the inclusion of security arrangements and disarmament, wealth sharing and economic and social development, and justice, reconciliation and return. The land chapter was expanded to make specific mention of ‘nomadic routes’.

What is missing from the Declaration is as interesting as what is included. There is no reference to the International Criminal Court, rather an emphasis on ‘transitional justice’ in all its many forms—and at all levels, from local to international—in order to ‘cure the soul and mend the social fabric’ and ensure there is no impunity for any of the crimes committed in Darfur (2.4.1). There is no mention of genocide, ‘ongoing’ or past, only to ‘illegal stop and search[es]’ of IDPs’ and unspecified impediments to security in the IDP camps (2.1.1 C ). (This raises the question: was enough effort exerted to bring to Doha war-affected Darfurians not in camps?) There is no call for the armed movements to have a role in getting the displaced back to their villages, as demanded by the movements. This should be organized by the Native Administration ‘with the help of the unified police, UNAMID forces in addition to the army if necessary’ (2.1.2.D). There is no demand for a single Darfur region, a subject participants said requires more ‘research and consultation’ (2.3.11). There is no finger-pointing: the words ‘militias’ and ‘movements’ do not appear in the text, which recommends ‘the simultaneous collection of weapons from all parties except the regular forces’ (2.1.2 B).

Civil society is looking forward, not back, demanding the re-establishment of boarding schools (especially important for pastoralists), ‘major development projects of national character [to] foster a sense of nationhood and [remove] a sense of marginalization’ (2.2.1), job creation (2.2.5).

The Doha Declaration requests the parties to observe an immediate ceasefire. The parties claim to represent the people. It’s a pity that the Mediation isn’t exerting greater efforts to get the people’s voice to the parties (and to the media and lobbies that support the parties) to exercise pressure on them to put aside their individual agendas in the interests of the whole.

Many questions remain. Among them:
• Did the Sudan Government in any way impede the meeting or the ability of delegates to travel to Doha? Only five months ago, organizers of Mo Ibrahim’s Mandate Darfur were told that anyone attempting to go to Addis Abada for that civil society meeting would be arrested and put on trial for treason.
• Were pastoralists satisfied with their representation and input?
• How was the Declaration agreed on? By state or delegate? By unanimity or majority?
• Were the movements present as observers? (I believe this was the plan initially) If so, what was their reaction away from the media spotlight?
• What now?
Were any of the readers of this blog present in Doha? If so, can they do what the Mediation hasn’t—supply a detailed account of the meeting (and its corridors)? JEM has (predictably) said ‘most of the civil society representatives (in Doha) are supporters of the ruling National Congress Party’. The conference facilitator, Siddig Umbadda, refutes this. He says ‘quite a few government people declined to come because they thought the opposite’.

One final point: civil society sees a role for itself in ‘documenting’ any future negotiations (2.6.3 F). Had this been done in Abuja, we might not have seen such an immediate, violent reaction against the DPA. The failure of the AU to keep the people of Darfur informed of the progress, and content, of the negotiations was surely one of the main reasons for the uncompromising rejection of the DPA it its entirety.

4 Responses to “Civil Society and Doha: Where Next?”
Ahmed Hassan:
December 4th, 2009 at 9:31 am
Dear Julie Flint,
Many thanks for bringing this issue to discussion. Actually, ever since the meeting ended I was trying very hard to locate this famous Doha Declaration which was only briefly mentioned in the press release of the Qatari government.
I join my voice to you in raising these questions, and hope that someone can shed the light on the details of the meeting.
Moreover, I am also interested to know how representative to the civil society the participants were. A comment that I read in one article claims that the delegations were dominantly supporters of the government and that explains why the issue of the ICC was avoided. I do not claim that this is true, but I would like to know more about the selection and the composition and background of the delegates in addition to answers for the important questions that you raised in this article.
Many thanks again.
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Sean Brooks:
December 4th, 2009 at 5:37 pm
Good post Julie…I too have been asking why the media keeps missing the importance of the Doha consultations and Declaration, see: http://blogfordarfur.org/archives/2102.
I have not heard of the NCP impeding the travel of any delegates, which is something that was of great concern given what happened before Mandate Darfur. As for the the content of the Declaration, I addressed this in a recent post as well http://blogfordarfur.org/archives/2214: “And it seems apparent from the “Doha Declaration” itself that NCP representatives had limited influence on the outcome. In addition to a call for a ceasefire and negotiations, the civil society representatives also made strong demands about carrying out justice, ending impunity, and resolving land issues in Darfur. In fact, the document specifically calls for the return of all land of displaced persons and refugees to their original owners and the evacuation of those who have lived on the land during their absence. It also calls for the disarmament of all armed forces in Darfur, except for the constitutionally authorized regular forces, and the establishment of the necessary security mechanisms by UNAMID to allow displaced persons and refugees to return to their villages.”
As for how the declaration was agreed upon, Ali Dinar mentions that the delegates agreed to merge the recommendations brought to the consultations by the South/West Darfur and North Darfur delegations. Its my understanding that once the recommendations were merged together they were agreed upon unanimously.
I hope other attendees of Doha might answer your other important questions.
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Khalid Al Nur:
December 4th, 2009 at 9:12 pm
Ever since the failure of Abuja, a whole range of Darfurian groups including CSOs have been knocking at the door of the negotiations and asking to be represented. The mediators have always responded that to allow them into the hall would “complicate the process” and might lead to the armed movements (JEM and SLA-Abdul Wahid) pulling out. What this conference shows is that their presence doesn’t complicate the process at all, in fact it moves it forward. And, if there is a deal that brings in all Darfurians including the IDPs, the Arabs, civil society and the native administration, but is boycotted by JEM and Abdul Wahid — what does that mean? My prediction is that Khalil and Abdul Wahid might fulminate but they would have no option but to say, “those are my people, I’m their leader — let me follow them!”
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Ali B. Ali-Dinar:
December 6th, 2009 at 11:08 am
This is in response to Julie Flint’s questions:

(1) Did the Sudan Government in any way impede the meeting or the ability of delegates to travel to Doha?
For the Doha meeting, the wish of the government of Sudan (GoS) for the conference is to issue a statement that is critical of the armed movements and with fewer demands from the GoS. I believe the arrival to the meeting of individuals such General Adam Hamid, the Ex Governor of South Darfur, and General Hussein Abdallah Gibril, the Ex-Governor of North Darfur, whose names are floating around in the unofficial list of Darfur war criminals is a testimony to the government’s intention to derail the meeting/declaration but such attempt has failed. It failed mainly because the delegates from the three states did their homework before arriving to Doha. For Mo Ibrahim’s planned meeting the Government had tried to advance and bar specific individuals and the organizers reacted by canceling the conference. For Doha, the Government has its way in sending it’s people, but they failed in influencing the outcome. For more details about the process through which the Declaration was reached please read my statement: http://www.sudantribune.com/spip.php?article33323

(2) Were pastoralists satisfied with their representation and input?
The agreed Declaration was endorsed by delegates representing women, youth, IDPs, native administration, local NGOs, and NCP-ers. This is their vision for peace and justice in Darfur and for the benefit of all Darfurians regardless of their livelihood.

(3) Were the movements present as observers?
Some of the movements were already in Doha and in the same hotel (Sheraton) where the conference took place in negotiation with GoS and the team of mediation. The civil society delegates were accommodated in a different hotel (Retaj Al-Rayan). There was no presence from the armed movements in the civil society’s conference neither as delegates or observers because they were not invited. JEM’s response to the Declaration is announce here: http://www.sudanjem.com/2009/archives/21725/en/

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See photo of Julie Flint in report at The Washington Post dated May 28, 2004: Julie Flint travelled for 25 days on foot and horseback in the Darfur region of Sudan to collect evidence of attacks by government-backed militiamen.

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

Special Envoys for Sudan of China, EU, France, Russia, UK, US (the E6) met in Moscow 6 October 2009

The E6 received an update on efforts by the UN/AU Joint Chief Mediator Djibril Bassole to engage with rebel factions and Darfuri civil society, as part of a broader effort to restart peace talks in Doha by the end of October. They strongly supported this objective. They called on the Government of Sudan to do everything possible to facilitate such efforts, and for all Darfuri leaders to engage urgently in the peace talks, including those based elsewhere in the region and in Europe. Any further delay would be unacceptable.

Source: US Department of State
Moscow E6 Statement
Washington, DC
October 6, 2009

The Special Envoys for Sudan of China, the European Union, France, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States (the E6) met in Moscow on 6 October 2009, under the chairmanship of Mikhail Margelov, Special Envoy for Sudan of the President of the Russian Federation.

The E6 reviewed developments in Sudan since their first meeting in Doha in May. They welcomed signs of progress, including over Abyei and towards full deployment of UNAMID, but noted the fundamental challenges remaining. They underlined the need for further efforts and stronger political commitment by all parties in Sudan to build lasting peace, stability and prosperity, and confirmed their readiness to support these efforts, and called on all regional and international partners to do the same.

The E6 particularly underlined the urgency of progress to further efforts for the implementation of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement. They welcomed the work undertaken with the parties in this regard by US Special Envoy Scott Gration, the Assessment and Evaluation Commission and the United Nations, and between the parties themselves. They urged the parties to reach agreement as soon as possible on arrangements for free and fair national elections in 2010 and the 2011 referendum, as well as on a work-plan to address issues of shared interest that will arise after 2011.

The E6 expressed their strong concern over current security and humanitarian challenges in South Sudan, and their readiness to support efforts by the authorities there to tackle these.

The E6 received an update on efforts by the UN/AU Joint Chief Mediator Djibril Bassole to engage with rebel factions and Darfuri civil society, as part of a broader effort to restart peace talks in Doha by the end of October. They strongly supported this objective. They called on the Government of Sudan to do everything possible to facilitate such efforts, and for all Darfuri leaders to engage urgently in the peace talks, including those based elsewhere in the region and in Europe. Any further delay would be unacceptable. They strongly supported the renewed efforts by all sides to ensure peaceful, cooperative relations across the region, particularly between Sudan and Chad, and to improve levels of humanitarian access and reduce insecurity. In this regard they welcomed the expansion of the High-level Committee on Darfur to allow participation by interested countries, the Arab League and the African Union.

The E6 looked forward to forthcoming report on Peace, Justice and Reconciliation in Darfur by the AU High-Level Panel led by former President Mbeki. They expressed their common hope that its recommendations, and follow-up action by all concerned in Sudan, could contribute positively to resolution of the complex challenges facing Darfur, Sudan as a whole and the region.

The E6 underlined the essential role of the United Nations and African Union, as well as other regional organizations and neighboring states, in supporting the parties to work through the urgent remaining challenges to peace. They called for particular attention in forthcoming international appointments to ensuring full coherence and coordination in UN/AU efforts, and for stronger and more concerted leadership at all levels.

The E6 resolved to meet again as necessary to exchange views on the situation in Sudan, and how they could work together and with others to support the parties to build peace.

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From Nam News Network
SUDANESE PRESIDENTIAL ENVOYS HOLDS MEETINGS IN DOHA AHEAD OF DOHA TALKS

MOSCOW, Oct 7 (NNN-SUNA) -- Sudanese Presidential Adviser Dr. Ghazi Salahuddin has held a number of meetings here with delegations participating in the Scientific Symposium on Sudan.

In a statement to SUNA Tuesday, Sudan's Ambassador to Russia, Suraj-Eddin Hamid, said Dr. Salahuddin met the joint envoy of the United Nations and the African Union (AU) on Dafur, Djibril Bassole, and the Chinese envoy and reviewed the preparations for the coming session of negotiation in Doha.

Ambassador Hamid said that the group of envoys was engaged in formulation of a statement including the major views reflected in the symposium, adding that the symposium would review on Wednesday issues of Sudan through three working groups on the economic and social situation, the political situation and the situation in Darfur.

He added that Dr. Salahuddin would continue his meetings on the sidelines of the symposium and was due to meet with the American and the Dutch envoys.

A number of Russian and international mass media and press have interviewed members of Sudan's delegation to the symposium which is headed by Dr. Salahuddin.

Addressing the symporsium Tuesday, Dr. Salahuddin, affirmed the Sudanese government's seriousness to implement the remaining items in the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) which ended the war between northern and southern Sudan and led to the southern Sudan-based Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SOLM) to participate in the national government.

He also urged the international community to live up to its commitments for supporting the implementation of the CPA.

Turning to Dafur, Dr. Salahuddin referred to the government's efforts to reach a peaceful solution to the Darfur issue and the current situation concerning negotiations for solving the Darfur issue, while expressing appreciation for the role of the Arab ministerial committee in this regard.

He called on the international community to boost the efforts for achieving stability and peace in Darfur by urging the armed movements in Dafur to participate in the Doha negotiations.

Dr. Salahuddin affirmed the government's keenness to work for holding elections within the fixed time.

Meanwhile, the Russian Deputy Foreign Minister affirmed the commitment of his country to support the peace, stability and unity of Sudan. The symposium was also addressed by Dr. Mutrif Siddiq, Osman Khalid Mudawi, Ghazi Suleiman, Dr. Lam Akol, the special envoy of the Russian President for Sudan, the Qatari State Minister for Foreign Affairs, Ahmed bin Abdalla Al-Mahmoud, the representatives of China, the United States, the Netherlands, Canada, France, Finland, the UN envoy for Sudan, Asharf Qazi, Djibril Bassole and the representative of the Russian Contemporary Development Institute which is sponsoring the symposium. -- NNN SUNA

UNAMID: Security Situation in Darfur July 15, 2009

Source:  UN – African Union Mission in Darfur (UNAMID) 
EL FASHER (DARFUR), Sudan (via APO)

UNAMID Daily Media Brief July 15, 2009

Security Situation in Darfur

The general security situation in Darfur is reported to be relatively calm.

UNAMID military conducted 94 patrols, including confidence-building, escort patrols, night patrols and investigation patrols covering sixty-six (66) villages and internally displaced persons (IDP) camps during the reporting period.

Darfur-Darfur Dialogue and Consultation (DDDC) Workshop for Darfurian Women

The Darfur-Darfur Dialogue and Consultation (DDDC) Secretariat, in collaboration with the Center for Peace and Community Development Studies, University of Nyala, organized a two-day workshop on Tuesday 14 and Wednesday 15 July to explore the achievement of sustainable peace and reconciliation in Darfur. Women leaders from South Darfur participated in the workshop, which discussed a range of topics to identify common issues in an effort to end the conflict in Darfur.

Further, issues pertaining to the impact of the ongoing crisis and damage it has caused to the livelihoods, infrastructure and social fabric of Darfur, and long term challenges were raised. Participants emphasized that sustainable peace in Darfur could only be achieved through the provision of basic public services, especially health and education, as well as by conducting vocational training and creation of job opportunities, among others. In that light, they noted the lack of resources and funding for implementation of related development projects.

The women also discussed the security situation in Darfur, including the exchange of weapons in and around the villages and IDP camps in the area, and across the borders with neighboring countries, especially Chad.

The DDDC Secretariat was set up at the recommendation of the Darfur Peace Agreement (DPA) to facilitate a broad and inclusive consultative process to help Darfurians discuss and find solutions to the conflict in Darfur among themselves.