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African Union Panel on Darfur Hearings
06/17/2009
In continued efforts to foster dialogue and find solutions to the root causes of the conflict in Darfur, the high–level African Union Panel on Darfur (AUPD), chaired by former South African President Thabo Mbeki, and includes former Burundian President Pierre Buyoya, former Nigerian President Abdulsalami Abubakar, Zambian Justice Florence Mumba, and other African dignitaries, is holding hearing in Sudan.
KHARTOUM, SUDAN – In continued efforts to foster dialogue and find solutions to the root causes of the conflict in Darfur, the African Union Panel on Darfur (AUPD) is set to hold a series of hearings facilitated by the Darfur – Darfur Dialogue and Consultation (DDDC) in Khartoum and Darfur.
The AUPD, which is chaired by former South African President Thabo Mbeki and includes former Burundian President Pierre Buyoya and Nigerian President Abdulsalami Abubakar, is seeking to determine how best to expedite the peace process to create conditions conducive to promote justice, healing, and reconciliation in Darfur.
Building on assessment missions to Sudan in April and May 2009, and according to its terms of reference, the AUPD will hold hearings to listen to the voices of Darfurians and other stakeholders as part of its mandate “to ensure that accountability and combating impunity, on the one hand, and reconciliation, healing, and the promotion of lasting peace, on the other, are addressed in a mutually reinforcing way.”
The DDDC, an autonomous, inclusive, non-partisan process mandated to enable Darfurians to voice their opinions and views to achieve sustainable peace and reconciliation in the region, is mobilizing and bringing together stakeholders, including internally displaced persons (IDP), tribal leaders, political parties, and civil society groups, to participate in the AUPD hearings. The stakeholders will gather in Khartoum and each of the Darfur State capitals prior to the respective hearings to discuss the themes of peace, reconciliation, justice, and Darfurians and national Sudanese issues, and will select representatives to present their conclusions to the AUPD during the hearings.
The United Nations – African Union Mission in Darfur (UNAMID) is providing technical support to the DDDC for the AUPD hearings, which are scheduled as follows:
• En Siro, June 16: En Siro Village, 10:00 a.m - 4:00 p.m.
• Khartoum, June 17: Burj Al–Fateh Hotel, 8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.
• El Fasher, North Darfur, June 20: UNAMID, 9:30 a.m. – 5:30 p.m.
• Nyala, South Darfur, June 21: UNAMID, 9:30 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.
• El Geneina, West Darfur, June 22: UNAMID, 8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.
• Zalingei, West Darfur, June 23: UNAMID, 8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.
• Khartoum, June 25: Burj Al–Fateh Hotel at 8:30 – 4:30 p.m.
Seeking peace and reconciliation through dialogue and mediation to resolve conflict within and between communities is a deeply rooted Darfurian tradition. By engaging conflicting groups, restoring confidence, building trust, and promoting open and transparent dialogue to overcome grievances and agree on common grounds to achieve sustainable peace, the DDDC is a continuation of this tradition.
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