Secretary General of the United Nations Ban Ki-moon on Sunday urged all parties involved in the conflict in the western Sudanese region of Darfur to declare their serious commitment to achieve a political solution to the Darfur crisis.
The UN chief made the remarks in a statement issued by the UN as he was winding up a tour in Sudan, Chad and Libya.
The week-long tour was focused on the ways of pushing forward the Darfur peace process and the implementation of a hybrid peacekeeping operation of the UN and the African Union (AU) in Darfur.
Following his second meeting with Sudanese President Omer al- Bashir in Khartoum on Thursday, the two sides announced that the peace negotiations between the Sudanese government and Darfur rebel groups would resume on Oct. 27 in Libya.
The UN noted in the statement that during his visit, Ban had received strong endorsement of the AU-UN led upcoming negotiations.
"In preparation for the talks, the Secretary-General urges all parties to declare their serious commitment to achieve a political solution to the Darfur crisis, to create a security environment in Darfur conducive to negotiations, to participate in and commit to the outcome of the negotiation effort, and to cease all hostilities immediately," the statement said.
The statement called for an end to violence and insecurity as well as a strengthened ceasefire supported by the hybrid operation in Darfur.
It also reiterated the need for an improvement in the humanitarian situation and better prospects for development and recovery for the people of Darfur.
The Justice and Equality Movement led by Khalil Ibrahim, which had been one of the three rebel groups taking part in the last round of the Darfur peace talks in the first half of this year, has announced its readiness to participate in the next negotiations.
But another group, a faction of the Sudan Liberation Movement ( SLM) led by the movement's founder Abdul Wahid Mohammed Nour, has said that his faction would not come back to the negotiations table before its demands would be met, including a complete commitment to the ceasefire by the government and a disarmament of pro-government Arab militias.
However, UN officials in Sudan have said that the next peace talks would be held in the Libyan capital Tripoli anyway even without Nour's participation.
The Darfur peace process has been deadlocked after the Sudanese government signed the Darfur Peace Agreement with a main faction of the SLM led by Mini Arkou Minawi, in the Nigerian capital Abuja on May 5, 2006.
The UN chief made the remarks in a statement issued by the UN as he was winding up a tour in Sudan, Chad and Libya.
The week-long tour was focused on the ways of pushing forward the Darfur peace process and the implementation of a hybrid peacekeeping operation of the UN and the African Union (AU) in Darfur.
Following his second meeting with Sudanese President Omer al- Bashir in Khartoum on Thursday, the two sides announced that the peace negotiations between the Sudanese government and Darfur rebel groups would resume on Oct. 27 in Libya.
The UN noted in the statement that during his visit, Ban had received strong endorsement of the AU-UN led upcoming negotiations.
"In preparation for the talks, the Secretary-General urges all parties to declare their serious commitment to achieve a political solution to the Darfur crisis, to create a security environment in Darfur conducive to negotiations, to participate in and commit to the outcome of the negotiation effort, and to cease all hostilities immediately," the statement said.
The statement called for an end to violence and insecurity as well as a strengthened ceasefire supported by the hybrid operation in Darfur.
It also reiterated the need for an improvement in the humanitarian situation and better prospects for development and recovery for the people of Darfur.
The Justice and Equality Movement led by Khalil Ibrahim, which had been one of the three rebel groups taking part in the last round of the Darfur peace talks in the first half of this year, has announced its readiness to participate in the next negotiations.
But another group, a faction of the Sudan Liberation Movement ( SLM) led by the movement's founder Abdul Wahid Mohammed Nour, has said that his faction would not come back to the negotiations table before its demands would be met, including a complete commitment to the ceasefire by the government and a disarmament of pro-government Arab militias.
However, UN officials in Sudan have said that the next peace talks would be held in the Libyan capital Tripoli anyway even without Nour's participation.
The Darfur peace process has been deadlocked after the Sudanese government signed the Darfur Peace Agreement with a main faction of the SLM led by Mini Arkou Minawi, in the Nigerian capital Abuja on May 5, 2006.
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