Brussels, 10/01/2008 (Agence Europe) - Three years ago, on 9 January 2005, the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) in Sudan was signed, bringing with it the prospect of a peaceful, stable and prosperous Sudan. To mark the third anniversary of this event, the Slovenian presidency of the Council published a declaration on 10 January, expressing the extent to which the EU considers this agreement as a historic act which brought to an end two decades of civil war and as an important instrument pointing the path to be followed by Sudan as a whole, including the East of the country and Darfur. The EU, then, calls on the agreement to be fully implemented.
In its declaration, the Slovenian presidency says that the European Union believes that the partners making up the government of national unity will show leadership by peacefully transforming the difficulties and obstacles into opportunities to be grasped and by strengthening the implementation of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement in a spirit of mutual confidence and respect and with a desire to achieve success. It encourages the National Congress Party and the Popular Movement for the Liberation of Sudan to work together to achieve the objectives set by the agreement.
The presidency says that the EU is determined to further increase the role of the review committee, which monitors and encourages the full implementation of the CPA. It is important to make progress in implementing the peace agreement in the east of Sudan, and there has to be a redoubling of efforts to finds a peaceful solution to the conflict in Darfur, the declaration goes on.
The EU believes that, in Darfur, all responsible parties must agree to an immediate cessation of hostilities and return to political negotiations. While everything has to be done to ensure the full deployment of the UNAMID (the joint UN-African Union mission to Darfur), the role of which is key, the EU says that it must be ensured that humanitarian aid can be channelled freely and in security in order to respond to the needs of the population of Darfur. The Council presidency uses this opportunity to repeat that the EU will continue to be a partner determined to support the implementation of the CPA and all the efforts to bring peace and development to the people of Sudan. (A.N.)