Darfur Development Strategy:  ‘People Are Ready for Change’, Secretary-General

Notes in Message to Conference, Urging Donors to Step Up Engagement

Following is UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s message to the International Donor Conference for Reconstruction and Development in Darfur, held in Doha, 7 to 8 April:

I am pleased to send greetings to all participants at the International Donor Conference for Reconstruction and Development in Darfur.  I thank Deputy Prime Minister Ahmed bin Abdullah al Mahmoud and the State of Qatar for hosting this important event.  I am also grateful to the Government of the Sudan, the Darfur Regional Authority, United Nations agencies and international development partners for producing the Darfur Development Strategy which underpins today’s pledging initiative.

We share a collective commitment to achieving a comprehensive and inclusive peace for the people of Darfur.  Resolving the crisis there remains critical to consolidating peace and stability for Sudan as a whole.

Ten years since the crisis peaked, the conflict continues to exact a heavy toll on civilians, threatening security, displacing populations, hurting livelihoods, destroying infrastructure and disrupting the provision of health, education, water and other basic services throughout parts of the region.

The long-stalled effort to find a political resolution to this conflict reached a turning point in July 2012 with the adoption of the Doha Document for Peace in Darfur by the Government of Sudan and the Liberation and Justice Movement.  Last month, the inclusiveness of the process was further enhanced when the Government of the Sudan and the Justice and Equality Movement–Sudan agreed to sign on to the Doha Document.

The success of the most recent negotiations opens yet another opportunity for the signatory parties to accelerate implementation of the provisions of the Doha Document, and to do more to improve the lives of the region’s people.

Over a six-year period, the reconstruction and development of Darfur will require $7.2 billion.  The Government of the Sudan must clearly demonstrate its commitment to fulfil its financial obligations to support recovery and development in Darfur.  I also call on the Government to cooperate to facilitate the work of UNAMID [African Union-United Nations Hybrid Operation in Darfur], humanitarian actors and international development partners throughout Darfur, while respecting human rights.

The Darfur Development Strategy acknowledges that while current conditions may not be perfect, “the people are ready for change”.  In this spirit, I urge you to step up your engagement to achieve the transformation of Darfur that its people deserve.

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For information media • not an official record