‘Unamid will continue to protect the civilians of Darfur’: Ibn Chambas

The Joint Special Representative of the African Union-United Nations Mission in Darfur (Unamid), Mohamed Ibn Chambas, held a press conference on Thursday in which he briefed the media on the current developments in relation to Unamid’s mandate and activities, as well as the Darfur peace process. Ibn Chambas commemorated the escalation of tribal conflicts in the past year, and the 16 Unamid staff members who lost their lives in attacks. He remembered the killing of “the entire leadership” of the Justice and Equality Movement-Bashar, that signed the Doha Document for Peace in Darfur (DDPD) in 2013. He voiced his conviction that the DDPD “will continue to be the framework based on which peace will be achieved in Darfur as mandated by the African Union Peace and Security Council and the United Nations Security Council”. In 2013, Ibn Chambas met with the non-signatory rebel movements, “first in Arusha to understand their position and to provide them with a platform to share their grievances”. “In Addis Ababa, in partnership with the Inter-Governmental Authority for Development and under the auspices of the African Union, we met again to increase the Movements’ understanding of the humanitarian, security and political situation in Darfur and to encourage their participation in negotiations with the Government. At the same time the Government of Sudan was constantly appraised about the steps being taken by the Mediation; so also the State of Qatar which continues to show strong support for the quest for peace in Darfur.” The head of Unamid welcomed the representatives of the Darfur Regional Authority (DRA), and stated that “its institutions are now established and operational”. He noted that “one of the crucial areas that Unamid has actively worked with the DRA is in the conduct of workshops and conferences for diverse actors to identify the root causes of tribal conflicts that have raged throughout the region and to instil a culture of peace and co-existence among the communities”. Unamid will continue to support the DRA and the Sudanese government in realising the short-term and long-term development goals articulated in the Darfur Development Strategy. To this end, technical and logistical support is given to the DRA to implement 1,071 development projects throughout Darfur. Ibn Chambas also referred to the much-awaited International Donors’ Conference for Darfur in Doha. Significant pledges were allocated for development projects all over Darfur under the Darfur Development Strategy. He noted that the Special Prosecutor for the Special Court for Darfur was appointed in June 2013 to oversee gross violations of human rights and international humanitarian law committed in Darfur since February 2003, as stipulated in the DDPD. In December last year the preparations for the Darfur Internal Dialogue and Consultation took a further step with the meeting of its three facilitators, Unamid, the Government of Qatar, and the African Union. “This is a grassroots process,” Ibn Chambas remarked, that widens the “ownership of the peace framework, builds confidence and encourages reconciliation as well as unity among the people of Darfur”. Ibn Chambas stressed that Unamid will in no way be deterred from its central goal of protecting the civilians of Darfur and assisting them in bringing about durable peace. “The Mediation will explore every means possible to influence all sides to join the negotiation table to achieve the true comprehensive peace that the people of Darfur deserve.” He warned that in line with the Chapter VII mandate, Unamid will defend itself robustly when attacked. At the same time, Unamid will continue to work with the Sudanese government, specifically the Ministry of Justice, to provide them with all the evidence necessary to bring the offenders to justice. File photo: Joint Special Representative of Unamid, Mohamed Ibn Chambas, during the 24 January press conference (Albert González Farran/Unamid)