Abuja — The African Union (AU) peace and security council led by former South African president, Thabo Mbeki, met in Abuja yesterday to deliberate on the report of the seven-man AU High Level Panel on the crisis in Darfur.

It was the 207th session of the AU Peace and Security Council (PSC), which was attended by heads of state and government of AU states.

Declaring the session open, Nigeria's president, Alhaji Umaru Musa Yar'Adua expressed worry over the crisis and conflict in the war torn area which has stalemated efforts at the promotion of human rights, and said the AU must do something to bring the situation under control.

He called on his colleagues to dedicate the session "to addressing the seemingly intractable political impasse in Darfur. More specifically, it is to consider the report of the Seven-member African Union High Level Panel on Darfur.

"Your Excellencies, you may recall that the Pre-Trial Chamber of the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant against the President of the Republic of the Sudan on March 4, 2009, for war crimes and crimes against humanity." Following this, the PSC at its 175th Meeting in Addis Ababa on March 5, 2009 expressed deep concern over this decision, especially as it came at a critical point in the process of promoting lasting peace, reconciliation and democratic governance in the Sudan.

President Yar'Adua added: "While underlining that the search for justice should be pursued in a way that does not impede or jeopardise the promotion of peace, the PSC reiterated its strong condemnation of the gross violations of human rights in Darfur and the AU's unflinching commitment to combating impunity, in line with the relevant provisions of the Constitutive Act".

He said it was in line with Council mandate, that the Chairperson of the Commission established a High Level Panel, chaired by former South African President Thabo Mbeki, to examine the situation in depth and submit recommendations on how best the issues could be effectively and comprehensively addressed.

"On October 8, 2009, the report of the High Level Panel, entitled "Darfur: the Quest for Peace, Justice and Reconciliation," was presented to the Chairperson of the AU Commission. It covers a wide range of issues of crucial importance to the resolution of the conflict in Darfur.

"Your Excellencies, given the amount of work that has gone into preparing this report, it is apposite that we critically consider the recommendations contained in it, with a view to making our input towards facilitating the effective resolution of the conflict in the Darfur region and in the Sudan as a whole," he maintained.

The president commended former President Thabo Mbeki and members of the panel for "the very comprehensive report before us today. All those who have contributed to the preparation of the documents before us today, including the chairperson and entire staff of the AU Commission, also deserve special commendation.

"In a special way, I must salute our eminent observers and international development partners whose presence here today is further demonstration of their commitment to the entrenchment of peace, stability, security and prosperity on our continent.

He expressed confidence that the work put in the process would bring lasting peace to war-turn Sudan.