26 May 2004
Addis Ababa — Addis Ababa, 26 May (AIM) - The African Union's newly established Peace and Security Council has decided to send an observer mission to the troubled region of Darfur in the Sudan.
The decision was taken in Addis Ababa on Tuesday, during the Council's first meeting after it was formally established. The Council consists of 15 AU member states, including Mozambique.
According to the AU Commissioner for Peace and Security, Djinnit Said, speaking at a Tuesday press conference, the observer mission will be a 100 strong. 60 of its members will be military personnel, and the other 40 will be civilians concerned with humanitarian assistance.
Said added that the Council has urged the Sudanese government to disarm the murderous militias held responsible for the violence in Darfur.
He said that Sudanese President Omar el-Bashir has accepted the establishment of an independent commission to investigate human rights violation in the Darfur region.
The Council's decision to send observers to Darfur came on the eve of fresh peace agreements due to be signed in Kenya on Wednesday between the Sudanese government and the rebel Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA). The documents to be signed are three additional protocols to the existing peace accord.
The Peace and Security Council also analysed the situation in Ivory Coast, and expressed concern at the current deadlock and political crisis, arising from the suspension of the government of national reconciliation, following the withdrawal of the members appointed by the opposition.
Said told reporters that the Council is encouraging the regional body, ECOWAS (Economic Community of West African States) to reactivate the peace process and the political transition in Ivory Coast.
As for the chaotic situation in Somalia, the Council favoured selective sanctions against the assorted Somali warlords and armed factions who are sabotaging attempts to pacify the country.
The Council also analysed the situation in countries where conflicts have either ended or are apparently winding down, such as Angola, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Burundi, Comoros and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Here the council believed that, despite the constraints that must still be faced, there are signs of positive development.
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