Sudan govt. contributes SDG6.4 million to Darfur Dialogue Project

On behalf of the Government of Sudan, Minister of Finance Badreldin Mahmoud today signed the first cost sharing agreement with the UN Development Programme (UNDP) in Sudan to support the Darfur Internal Dialogue and Consultations project (DIDC) with a total contribution of SDG 6.4 million (equivalent to $2 million).

DIDC is one of the critical components of the Doha Document for Peace in Darfur (DDPD) and remains a corner stone to solicit the opinions of Darfur communities. The Government of Sudan has shown extreme commitment to the DIDIC process in the same spirit of the National Dialogue., UNDP Sudan says in a press statement today.

Acknowledging the Darfur-wide internal dialogue and consultations, the DIDC’s significance stems from its impact in promoting inter-tribal and inter-communal peace, reconciliation and harmonious co-existence in the states of Darfur by addressing key issues such as resource-based tribal clashes through an inclusive and continuous multi-stakeholder engagement. The government of Sudan has honoured its pledge to support the DIDC process to achieve evident peace and amplify trust amongst the people of Darfur, the statement reads.

The DIDC process is facilitated by the DIDC implementation Committee headed by Siddig Adam Abdallah who expressed sincere appreciation to the State of Qatar for sponsoring the DDPD and to Unamid, the Arab League, the Darfur Peace Office, and the Darfur Regional Authority (DRA) by stating “We shall continue the process of implementing the DIDC project, which will soon cover all the remaining localities.”

“This agreement is owned by all Darfuris who contributed to its formulation. It has brought real gains and benefits to Darfuris and they I think they should support it,” Abdallah further stated.

Series of dialogues

Primarily supported by Unamid, the AU and Qatar -as stipulated in the relevant Security Council resolution- the Darfur Internal Dialogue Consultations project has lead a series of dialogues that were held at various levels throughout Darfur since its launch in January 2015 in the North Darfur capital of El Fasher.

From January to April last year, a total of 77 DIDC Outreach and Public Awareness meetings took place in the 64 localities of the Darfur region, and from June to October, 21 locality-level dialogue and consultation meetings were held in addition, four dialogue and consultation meetings were held in Khartoum in December 2015.

These meetings and internal dialogues, provided an opportunity for Darfuris to engage in open and transparent dialogue on the root causes of conflict in the region, and to propose measures to ensure long-term peace, security and development of the region in accordance with the Doha Document for Peace in Darfur (DDPD), according to the UNDP.

Joint Special Representative of Unamid, Martin Uhomoibhi affirmed “As one of the facilitators of the DIDC process, I commend the Government for releasing part of the contribution it pledged in accordance with Article 76 of the DDPD.”

Uhomoibhi further called on to the international community to emulate this example by offering financial contributions to the DIDC process.

'Peace and stability'

Dr Tijani Sese, chairman of the DRA, thanked the Government of Sudan for fulfilling its pledge towards the DIDC process and the State of Qatar for their continuous support to the development of Darfur.

UNDP Country Director Selva Ramachandran endorsed the importance of the DIDC process in establishing peace and stability in the region by stating “The contribution arrived in a time when the National Dialogue process is ongoing, as well as the referendum in Darfur.”

UNDP is supporting the DDPD directly through the Darfur Development Strategy and has been committed to support the process, which is evident in the results that were produced. UNDP will continue to support DIDC Implementation Committee and Unamid to ensure that the process is implemented successfully.