WASHINGTON, June 23 (KUNA) — US Deputy Secretary of State James Steinberg stressed here Tuesday the importance to remember the ongoing conflict in Darfur.
Speaking at the Forum for Support of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) for Sudan, Steinberg said that as “we all recognize that to deal with the problems of North-South and CPA implementation, we need a holistic approach that recognizes that all of the challenges in Sudan are interconnected and we have to work on them together”.
He added that “we recognize that as we develop our overall approach to Sudan, we recognize that just as were committed to the implementation of the CPA too, we strengthen our determination and resolve to work with all the parties together to try to see a resolution of the situation in Darfur as well”.
He affirmed that there is also recognition that “very importance milestones” are being faced in the near future, which “will determine the path of the future. And they will set the foundation, for better or for worse, of the very future of Sudan and for the region as a whole”.
“And therefore the stakes are enormous and the importance of … really focusing our efforts now in making sure that these processes as they go forward are fair, open, transparent, and are consistent with the spirit that brought about the CPA in the first place,” Steinberg indicated.
The US official stressed that his message and the message that General Scott Gration, the US Special Envoy for Sudan, carried to the region and the world is that “the international community and the United States supports your efforts to realize the promise of the CPA, the commitments that we made together in Naivasha, and through our presence here today reflect a commitment of all of us to see that the promise is realized”.
“That promise will continue,” he remarked.
For his part, Gration said before the Forum that although “much progress” has been made since the CPA was signed in January 2005 “theres still much that remains to be done”.
He added that there remains to be many things “unfulfilled and unimplemented”.
He indicated that “With less than 19 months to go, our work is cut out for us and we have to set a foundation for Sudan for peace, security, and prosperity”.
He affirmed that this is not possible to be done “alone,” and that “It’s going to take everybody working together”.
“And we’ll need your efforts once again, your commitments to ensure that we’re able to create an environment where the parties in Sudan can fully implement the CPA and achieve a long term, a lasting peace for their people”.
Gration noted that the time is “short” with less than six months until the national elections due in February 2010 and the referenda in January 2011, stressing that “time is urgent”.
“It’s time to move forward. It’s time to work together to bring peace to this country that’s permanent and lasting,” he remarked.
Meanwhile, Spokesman of the US State Department Ian Kelly told reporters that the Forum is “intended to refocus international attention on the Comprehensive Peace Agreement”.
He stressed belief that “key components of the CPA have been implemented, but critical aspects of the agreement must be addressed urgently in order to keep agreement on track in its last 24 months before the referendum”.
Sudan is represented at the CPA forum by two high-level delegations, the National Congress Party and the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement.
Also attending the forum are more than 32 countries and organizations, including foreign ministers and development ministers from South Africa, Kenya, Ethiopia and the Netherlands, as well as members of the Sudan troika. (end) si.bs KUNA 232148 Jun 09NNNN
حركة العدل و المساواة السودانية
موقع متخصص بنقل آخر الأخبار و البيانات و القرارات لحركة العدل و المساواة السودانية