Sudan – Darfur – Political process – Communiqué issued by M. Bernard Kouchner, Minister of Foreign and European Affairs

Paris, 20 March 2008

At my request, France has organized consultations between Abdul Wahid el Nur, president of the Sudan Liberation Movement, Jan Eliasson and Salim Ahmed Salim, co-mediators from the UN and the African Union, and representatives of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council.

This meeting, held on 18 March 2008, in Geneva, made it possible to initiate a dialogue between the historical leader of the oldest rebel movement in Darfur and several major players from the international community, to whom I would like to extend my very sincere thanks for accepting this invitation.

All the participants agreed on the need to strengthen security on the ground, notably through the deployment of the UN and AU mission, UNAMID, and on the importance of normalizing relations at the regional level to foster the search for a political solution to the Darfur crisis. At the same time, Mr el Nur was asked to play a full role in the diplomatic process conducted by the UN and AU co-mediators.

I hope that this step, conceived within the framework of France’s efforts to lead Mr el Nur to play an active role in seeking a political solution for Darfur, will help create a lasting dynamic of cooperation between the latter and the international community.

This meeting falls within the context of France’s commitment to finding a solution to the Darfur crisis, in line, notably, with the June 2007 ministerial meeting in Paris, the passage of UNSCR 1769, establishing UNAMID, and the deployment of EUFOR Chad/CAR and MINURCAT to confront the regional dimension of the crisis./.