UN, AU and Sudan discuss security concerns in Darfur Article Comments (1)
Email Print Save ________________________________ By Tesfa-Alem Tekle April 16, 2013 (ADDIS ABABA) – Representatives from the Sudanese government, the African Union (AU) and the United Nations met at the AU headquarters on Sunday in Addis Ababa to discuss rising security incidents in Darfur. The meeting also addressed the need peacekeepers from the African Union-United Nations Hybrid Operation in Darfur (UNAMID) to access areas of conflict. Addressing the representatives, the AU’s commissioner for peace and security, Ramtane Lamamra, said in addition to celebrating the achievements gained so far by of the tripartite arrangement, the meeting provided an opportunity to review challenges facing the mission, as well as to jointly re-engage on finding solutions. Representatives of the AU and UN commended the cooperative spirit demonstrated by the Sudanese government that led to the signing of a peace pact with the Justice and Equality Movement-Sudan (JEM-S) on 6 April. Both also expressed concern over the increased reports of armed clashes and inter-communal violence in Darfur and called upon non-signatory movements to similarly join the peace process. Meanwhile, Sudanese government representatives explained that access restrictions on peacekeepers in conflict-affected areas was due to security concerns and requested an increase in coordination at the technical level. The 15th meeting of the tripartite mechanism, an instrument tasked with resolving issues and challenges related to UNAMID deployment and operations, also held discussions on challenges related to customs clearances, the issuance of visas and the importance of development projects in Darfur. The Sudanese delegation was led by ambassador Rahamtalla Mohamed Osman, Sudan’s undersecretary to the ministry of foreign affairs, while the AU was represented by Lamamra and the UN by Anthony Banbury, assistant secretary-general for field support. The next meeting of the tripartite coordination mechanism is scheduled to be held in Khartoum in July. (ST) -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "South Sudan Info - The Kob" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.
