Hundreds of Darfuri to attend civil society forum for peace at Doha

The second annual forum of Darfuri civil society organizations will be held in Doha, Qatar from the 12th to 15th of July, with the arrival of 344 representatives of women, young people, refugees and displaced, and civil society organizations, according to a political adviser to the Joint Mediation Team, Mohammed Suleiman Khater. This meeting is similar to a four-day consultation held in Doha in November 2009. Khater said that the forum will present recommendations that were agreed upon during consultations held in Darfur last March. These recommendations are meant to fill gaps in the Doha Declaration, and also to address other issues of concern to civil society with regard to the coming peace agreement. The mediators had set a goal of finalizing a peace deal between the Sudanese government and the Liberation and Justice Movement by 15 July, but both rebel and government negotiators have downplayed that deadline. Some civil society figures at Doha and in Darfur have told Radio Dabanga that they would rather not see a peace deal reached with LJM unless the boycotting rebel movements are also involved, voicing concern that such a deal could repeat the experience of the Abuja talks, which culminated in a partial peace because only one rebel faction signed the 2006 deal.