Brussels, 04/02/2002 (Agence Europe) - Speaking on behalf of the European Union, the Spanish Presidency issued the following declaration on 1 February:
"The European Union welcomes the cease-fire agreement in the Nuba mountains signed on 19 January 2002 by the Government of the Sudan and the Sudan Peoples'Liberation Movement/Nuba, through the joint mediation of Switzerland and the United States of America.
The European Union considers the cease-fire agreement as an important step towards achieving a comprehensive settlement of the Sudanese civil conflict.
Furthermore, the European Union notes that the cease-fire is a part of wider efforts to improve the overall humanitarian situation in the Sudan and in the Nuba mountains in particular.
The European Union calls on both signatory parts to implement all modalities of the agreement, in particular article VII thereof establishing an international monitoring unit, and encourages further steps taken on the same lines in other parts of the Sudan deeply affected by the civil conflict.
The European Union is following the situation in the Nuba mountains very closely, and stands ready to examine measures it can take to support positive efforts aimed at bringing the Sudanese civil conflict to an end.
The Central and Eastern European countries associated with the European Union, the associated countries Cyprus, Malta and Turkey, and the EFTA countries, members of the European Economic Area align themselves with this declaration."