Save Darfur Welcomes News of 'Agreement of Good Intentions'

Save Darfur Welcomes News of 'Agreement of Good Intentions'

Meixner: ‘It is now up to all parties to the conflict to make this a first step toward a real and enduring peace in Darfur'

WASHINGTON – The Save Darfur Coalition today welcomed news of the "agreement of good intentions" signed by the Justice and Equality Movement rebel group and the Sudanese government in Doha, Qatar. Coalition senior director of policy and government relations Alex Meixner made the following statement:

"The ‘agreement of good intentions' reached yesterday by the JEM rebel movement and the Sudanese government was a necessary and worthy first step toward more formal peace talks, and hopefully toward the lasting and inclusive peace that those talks may yield. The Qatari government, the United Nations, the African Union, and the Arab League all played positive roles in sponsoring and supporting these preliminary talks, which benefited significantly from the stewardship of U.N.-AU Chief Mediator Djibril Bassole and the involvement of Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassem al-Thani. Given the critical situation on the ground in Darfur, there should be no delay in moving forward with the next round of talks.

"Ultimately, the fate of these new peace talks rests with the parties to the conflict themselves. It is now up to them to make this a first step toward a real and enduring peace in Darfur. It is therefore crucial that civil society and the relevant rebel movements be represented at the talks to articulate the full demands of the Darfuri people, and that an inclusive peace for Darfur and all of Sudan is the overriding goal for all parties. As the world learned following the failed Darfur Peace Agreement in 2006, a partial peace agreement ultimately yields no peace at all."

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About the coalition - The Save Darfur Coalition - an alliance of 180 faith-based, advocacy and human rights organizations - raises public awareness about the ongoing genocide in Darfur and mobilizes a unified response to the atrocities that threaten the lives of people throughout the Darfur region. The coalition's member organizations represent 130 million people of all ages, races, religions and political affiliations united together to help the people of Darfur. For more information on the coalition, please visit http://www.SaveDarfur.org. To obtain footage from the Darfur border region, coalition events, various interviews, and more, please visit the Save Darfur Coalition media gallery at http://media.savedarfur.org. All footage may be previewed in non-broadcast quality and may be purchased in broadcast quality by filling out the purchase request form provided on the site.