Ceasefire committee holds inaugural meet

JSR Gambari says the CFC is vital in ensuring the implementation of the Doha Peace Agreement

Ibrahim Gambari, the Joint Special Representative (JSR) for United Nations African Mission in Darfur (UNAMID), held the inaugural meeting of the ceasefire commission (CFC) in El Fasher on Monday. While opening the session, Gambari said that entire communities in Darfur were hoping for the CFC to take Darfur forward in the wake of the Doha Document for Peace in Darfur (DDPD). 

“The work of the Cease Fire Commission is vital for the implementation of the peace agreement,” Gambari told the meeting in El Fasher. “The commission carries on its shoulders the dreams of many for rupture with the past and the hopes of many more for a better future for their children and communities,” he added.

The CFC under UNAMID was established to implement provisions of various peace deals signed by parties to the conflict in Darfur, dating back to the N’Djamena Humanitarian Ceasefire accord of 2008. It has now been strengthened by the signing of the DDPD between the government of Sudan and the Liberation and Justice Movement (LJM) on July 14.

Ahmed Fadel, spokesperson of the LJM told Radio Dabanga, “The delegation and representatives of the movement arrived in El Fasher under the chairmanship of Ahmed Omar Mirghani to participate in the meeting.”

The CFC’s implementation has been viewed as being critical to the implementation of the Doha Peace Agreement and ultimately a permanent ceasefire and final security arrangements in the region.

These functions include monitoring all violations against the DDPD as well as older accords, monitoring of dialogue among parties that have signed the agreement and ensuring the safety of those implementing these accords.

Gambari said UNAMID for its part will continue to extend all necessary support for the implementation of the Doha agreement which he said “provides a unique opportunity for a new beginning” in Darfur.