In the name of God the Most Compassionate the Most Merciful
Excellencies,
Honourable Audience,
May the Peace, Mercy and Blessings of God be upon you.
At the outset, it is my pleasure to warmly welcome you in your second country, Qatar, on this happy occasion that marks the beginning of peace, security and stability in Darfur and the entire brotherly Sudan, God willing.
As you know, the Darfur peace process in Doha started late in 2008 as part of the Arab-African Ministerial Committee on Darfur.
From the beginning, the State of Qatar has acted in close cooperation with HE Mr. Djibril Bassolé, the Joint Mediator of the African Union and the United Nations, in order to reach a permanent, just and comprehensive solution to this chronic conflict, which has exhausted the material and moral potentials of the brotherly people of Sudan, and furnished a pretext for the ambitions of those who do not wish the best for this country.
However, you are aware of the challenges and difficulties faced by the mediation since the first day. First on the list of challenges is the division of the Darfur movements and their inability to agree on a single negotiating position. This has greatly delayed finding an early solution to the dispute. But, by God's grace, and the contribution of our regional and international partners, the mediation has succeeded in achieving certain breakthroughs on the course of unifying the movements, such as the establishment of the Liberation and Justice Movement that will sign today an agreement with the Government of the Republic of Sudan. This heralds the laying of new foundations for a durable peace in Darfur.
Towards that end, the mediation has exerted all possible efforts in determining the root causes of the conflict, has called upon all movements, without exception, to join the peace wagon, and has organized conferences that provided the people of Darfur with the opportunity to put forward their perceptions for a solution and to partake in the peacemaking process.
Honorable audience,
The negotiations between the parties have proceeded in a synergic process, hand-in-hand with the consultations with the people of Darfur without substituting one for the other. In the end the mediation thought of combining the outcome of all these efforts in a document that would be the basis for the final solution to the conflict and garners the consent of all parties. In fact the document was drafted, endorsed and welcomed by the people of Darfur during the Darfur Stakeholders Conference held here in Doha late May and attended by regional and international partners, including members of the Arab-African Ministerial Committee and the special envoys to Sudan from the permanent members of the Security Council, the European Union and other partners.
The document was widely welcomed and supported by different international institutions including the United Nations, the UN Security Council, the African Union, the Arab League, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, the European Union and other countries and institutions, which called on all parties to expedite the signing of peace agreements based on the settlement stated in the document, in order to enable the international community to address the pressing issues of stability, reconstruction and development long awaited by the people of Darfur and Sudan at large.
The signing of a peace agreement today between the Government of the Republic of Sudan and the Liberation and Justice Movement based on the Doha Document for Peace in Darfur is deemed as an auspicious beginning to anchor peace in Darfur. It is a sincere call to all the movements to take the same path and not to fall behind in contributing to the privilege of making and sustaining peace.
It is time now for Darfur and its people to enjoy stability after a long period of hardships, and to be able to return to their homes and normal life in the light of the availability of the fundamentals of a decent life.
We, in the State of Qatar, and in coordination with our regional and international partners are keen to see our people in Darfur in particular, and in Sudan in general, enjoy security and stability, which are the two prerequisites for development and prosperity. We will spare no effort to make that possible. At the same time, we appeal to everyone to give priority to the interests of their own people, the interests of the people of Darfur in particular, and the people of Sudan in general, and to participate in making a true peace that is expressive of their devotion to their country, and to place their country's interests high above all other considerations.
At this pivotal stage of our region’s history, the people are raising their voices, and the interests of the people have become compelling, and it is in the interest of politicians to address them as early as possible. The peoples of our region have made their views known, they want justice and freedom; they do not want hateful civil conflicts, for these should be a thing of the past.
In conclusion, we would like to extend our thanks to all those who have contributed to this achievement, and we extend special thanks to the Government of the Republic of Sudan, the parties participating in peace negotiations, the United Nations and the African Union mission for Darfur, chaired by HE Mr. Ibrahim Gambari, the Arab-African Ministerial Committee, our international partners, as we also would like to thank HE Mr. Djibril Bassole, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Burkina Faso, who has served as a joint mediator of the African Union and the United Nations for his patience, perseverance and dedicated efforts.
It is a must also to extend thanks to HE. Mr. Ahmed bin Abdullah Al-Mahmoud, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs for his tireless and sustained effort that has contributed to achieving this accomplishment.
May God’s Peace, Blessing and Mercy be upon you.