Al Mahmoud Urges Non-signatory Movements to Sign Up to the DDPD

Doha, January 20 (QNA) - Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of State for Cabinet Affairs, HE Ahmed bin Abdullah Al Mahmoud, and HE Aichatou Mindaoudou, Joint AU-UN Chief Mediator for Darfur opened in Doha a round of negotiations between the delegation of the Government of the Republic of Sudan, chaired by Dr. Amin Hassan Omar, Minister of State in the Presidency and Head of the Darfur Follow-up Office and the head of the Office pursue peace in Darfur, and the delegation of the Sudanese Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) chaired by Arko Suleiman Dahia, the Movement's Deputy President. JEM has decided to engage into peace negotiations after it previously signed a cessation of hostilities agreement, HE Al Mahmoud told reporters here following the opening session. JEM negotiating delegation has asked for more time to study the Doha Document for Peace in Darfur (DDPD), he said, referring to the significant one-week workshop held in Doha for Sudan's JEM and run by the UNAMID Mediation Support in which a number of U.N. and A.U. experts participate. The workshop aimed at building the capacity of JEM delegation and explain the provisions of the DDPD, he explained. "The two parties demonstrate keenness to enter into negotiations while I will together with HE the Joint AU-UN Chief Mediator for Darfur draft an agenda for the negotiations which will be then approved by the negotiating parties before starting negotiations," HE Al Mahmoud said. On the issues to be discussed during the current round of talks, he said they will be decided by the parties negotiators, noting that the mediation has suggested to form a number of committees dealing each with one of the specific clauses stipulated at the DDPD which would lead up after discussion to the signing of a number of protocols within it. The Deputy Premier said he has received calls from other movements, which expressed keenness to join the DDPD. " A third party to the conflict will join the negations...Things are progressing on the right path, It is not a compliment," Al Mahmoud said," adding that the information that he received confirm the existence of a "genuine desire for peace." " They seek a framework and arrangements ... we are now working with the United Nations to provide them with such a structure" in dealing with the Darfur conflict, he said. HE Al Mahmoud urged non-signatory movements to sign up to the DDPD, calling upon all arms holders to resort to the voice of reason and enter in negotiations to find a comprehensive settlement. The DDPD was finalized at the All Darfur Stakeholders Conference in May 2011, in Doha, Qatar. On 14 July, the Government of Sudan and the Liberation and Justice Movement (LJM) signed a protocol agreement committing themselves to the Document, which is now the framework for the comprehensive peace process in Darfur. The DDPD is the culmination of two and half years of negotiations, dialogue and consultations with the major parties to the Darfur conflict, all relevant stakeholders and international partners. It addresses the root causes of the conflict and its consequences, including Power Sharing, Wealth Sharing, Human Rights, Justice and Reconciliation, Compensation and Return, and Internal Dialogue among others. On whether there were a time-frame for negotiations between the Sudanese Government and the Justice and Equality Movement, Al Mahmoud said that Qatar is the host country and so was trying to give both parties enough time to negotiate. Al Mahmoud said that Qatar made it clear to both parties that there were other commitments on schedule like the re-building of Darfur. Al Mahmoud said that the secret of the success of Doha Document for Peace is that it welcomes any party or group to join it. He added that the international community backed the document because it was made by the people of Darfur. HE the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of State for Cabinet Affairs said that the State of Qatar led by HH the Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani believe that any document, if not undertaken by the people of Darfur, will end up being a failure. He expressed his relief that the Doha document for peace started from the bottom up. Answering a question from Qatar News Agency on the implementation of the document on the ground, Al Mahmoud said that both the Sudanese Government and the Justice and Equality Movement were pleased at the pace at which the implementation of the document was going. (QNA)