The Darfur Consortium

An African and International
Civil Society Action for Darfur

Member's Publications

June 19 2006

Arab and African human rights organizations affirm that
peace in Darfur requires attention to the root causes of the conflict and the pursuit of justice; the task of protecting civilians should be quickly transferred to the United Nations

Press Statement

Arab and African Human Rights Organizations welcome the recently signed Abuja Agreement between the government of Khartoum and elements of the armed opposition movements as a step towards establishing peace in Darfur. Meeting in Casablanca at the weekend at a workshop entitled: "Towards Integrating the Roles of the Arab and African Civil Society for Issues of Peace and Justice in Darfur," the groups cautioned, however that success of the agreement is conditional on the following:

• Introducing effective mechanisms to monitor the implementation of the Agreement, including ensuring the participation of civil society actors and appropriate regional and international bodies: interpretation and implementation of the Agreement should not be undertaken solely by the Government of Sudan.
• Resuming dialogue with those armed movements which have rejected the Agreement in its current form, in order to reach compromises satisfactory to all parties: sustainable peace requires the elimination of the roots of the conflict including tackling the crisis of democracy and participation in political decision-making and ensuring equitable distribution of wealth, support for development and respect for human rights.
• Urgently strengthening the operational, financial, and personnel capabilities of the African Union (AU) mission in Darfur (AMIS) in order to carry out the functions assigned under the Abuja agreement in the transitional period, in particular removing the conditionalities attached to the current mandate which prevents AMIS from effectively protecting civilians.
• Fulfillment of the Government of Sudan’s commitment to quickly disarm the Janjaweed militias, and firmly stand against any threat to the safety of civilians in the region.
• Bringing an end to all oppressive security practices against human rights defenders and Sudanese and international relief organizations in Darfur.
• Developing a range of mechanisms to ensure accountability and justice in Darfur, including through full cooperation with the International Criminal Court.
• Ensuring a transition to a United Nations mission capable of ensuring the protection of the people of Darfur and wining their trust, and supporting the implementation of the Abuja Agreement

The workshop was held at the invitation of the Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies (CIHRS), the Moroccan Organization of Human Rights, the Center for Human Rights Studies and Democracy in Morocco and the Darfur Consortium. Participants included 24 Arab and African organizations, a number of international non-governmental organizations, media professionals and academicians. Representatives of the International Criminal Court attended as observers and a representative of the Arab League participated in the opening session. The workshop tackled three main themes: assessment of the Abuja Peace Agreement, protection of civilians and promoting justice and accountability. Detailed recommendations were drawn up along side an NGO strategy directed at ensuring follow-up to the recommendations including before the AU, the League of Arab States and the UN.       

Read the full recommendations of the session.