19 November 2004
United Nations Wants Peace in Sudan by End of 2004
Peace in Darfur will come through Naivasha Accords, Danforth says
The world is seeking to put the government of Sudan and the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) on center stage to have them sign a peace agreement by December 31, said Ambassador John C. Danforth, the U.S. permanent representative to the United Nations.
Speaking to reporters in Nairobi, Kenya, November 19 on the second day of a two-day special U.N. Security Council meeting on Sudan, Danforth said the memorandum of understanding that both Sudanese government officials and SPLM representatives signed earlier in the day "is going to be an important step" in reaching an end to that nation's 21-year-old civil war.
Danforth, who is serving as the president of the Security Council during the month of November, reiterated that "the road to peace in Darfur is through Naivasha," referring to the Naivasha Accords, a security arrangement reached in Kenya between the government of Sudan and the Sudan People's Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/SPLA).
The reality, Danforth told his audience, is that "we are focused on all of Sudan."
Following is the transcript of Ambassador Danforth's remarks:
(begin transcript)
USUN PRESS RELEASE # 254 (04)
November 19, 2004
[Nairobi, Kenya]
Remarks by Ambassador John C. Danforth, U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations, following a meeting of the UN Security Council in Nairobi, November 19, 2004
Ambassador Danforth: Well, I think it was a very eventful day. It was good to be present when the memorandum of understanding was signed by the Government of Sudan and the SPLM. I think that it was remarkable that the Security Council is standing behind the parties in signing as witnesses to the agreement. I think it was very dramatic and it certainly puts the completion of the peace agreement front and center on the agenda.
I have often said in the three years that I have been involved in the peace process in Sudan that I am from the state of Missouri in the U.S., and we have a motto of our state and the motto is "show me." We call ourselves the "Show Me State," and that is how I've always felt about the peace process in Sudan -- that agreements are fine, memoranda of understanding are fine, but beyond any kind of agreement, any kind of paper is the actuality, what really happens. The process of building a nation never ends. This is never going to be a subject that we finally reach a final piece of paper and that's the end of it and we can cross Sudan off of the world's "to do" list. It's going to be a very, very long-term effort to try to build a nation, but today was an important day, and an important step on the journey toward a peaceful and strong Sudan.
Reporter (Inaudible)
Ambassador Danforth: I wouldn't -- I wouldn't put the two on a scale. I would say that the world is looking at Sudan and I believe that from the standpoint of the Government of Sudan and also the SPLM, the reaction of the rest of the world is very important. I can remember two or three years ago, shortly after I got involved in Sudan, a representative of the government came out to my hometown and had lunch with me. The question that he put was, "Are we damned if we do and damned if we don't?" and by that he meant whether or not we have peace, does the rest of the world really care, or are we on the world's blacklist no matter what we do? And the response given by President Bush was no, we care very much what happens to the future of Sudan.
The world could go either way. The world could go in the direction where we have been going of treating Sudan as though it's a pariah. Or, on the other hand, the world could go with the direction of welcoming Sudan into the world community as a country of increasing prosperity and increasing engagement with the rest of the international community. It's a decision that's up to the Sudanese. They're going to have to decide that themselves, so I don't see this as an issue of "are carrots better than sticks or sticks better than carrots?" It all has to do with the decision of the people of Sudan and the leaders of Sudan as to the future of their country.
Reporter: (Inaudible)
Ambassador Danforth: The distribution of wealth in [the] South has already been decided. That's an issue that has been determined. That is not open for further discussion. The basic question that's left before the parties has to do with the cost of the Sudanese People's Liberation Army -- who pays for it and how much? That, to me, is an issue that's not, should not be that difficult to resolve, and both sides have said that they can reach an agreement and will. They've not only said they can, they have promised to reach a final peace agreement by December 31, and both have said that the remaining issue is one that they have talked about for a long period of time and one that they can resolve.
Reporter: (Inaudible)
Ambassador Danforth: I just don't see that at all. The two issues are indivisible, and many, many people have said that. Both sides have said that. The Secretary General has said that. The Secretary General's representative, Mr. Pronk, has said that. They have all said that these issues are indivisible. It's very difficult to have a country that is somewhat at peace -- either it's at peace, or it's not.
And it's been generally said by both sides that the road to peace in Darfur is through Naivasha. It provides the basis for peace in Darfur, so it is not, it is not a question of the world directing its attention to Darfur one day and then saying, "Oh, okay, now we're going to take our attention away from Darfur to Naivasha" the next day. That is just not the reality. The reality is that we are focused on all of Sudan, and that we deal with Naivasha. We deal with all of Sudan, including Darfur.
Reporter: (Inaudible)
Ambassador Danforth: I think today was a big day and a big step forward, but as I tried to say earlier, it's a step on a journey and the journey is a country that can hold itself together and can prosper. I think for any country that is a continuing journey, including my own. The business of having a country where different kinds of people can live together, peacefully and respect one another and respect one another's beliefs and lives, that's an ongoing process. It never ends for any country, and it's something that the people of Sudan and the leader of Sudan -- leaders of Sudan -- are going to have to work on forever.
It's not going to be resolved simply by signing a peace agreement. But a memorandum of understanding is an important step in that direction, and signing a peace agreement is going to be an important step in that direction. And then the implementation of that peace agreement is going to be very important. Yesterday, General Sumbeiywo said to me something that, to me is memorable, and he said that the rest of the world is going to have [to] take Sudan by the hand and walk with it for a very long period of time -- and I agree with that. This is not something that just has a beginning and an end, it's a process that's going to go on and on. The process has been advanced in the last 24 hours -- no doubt about that -- but it's still a process.
Reporter: (Inaudible)
Ambassador Danforth: The focus today has not been on the Security Council taking action against anybody. The focus today has been to put the two parties on center stage of the world and to turn the spotlight on both sides on center stage and before the world, to have both sides commit themselves to this process and particularly to signing a peace agreement by December 31st. That was the key to that, and I think that the key is not some sort of enforcement, but the fact that the world is watching and the world is expecting.
Reporter: (Inaudible)
Ambassador Danforth: I'm having a very hard time hearing you.
Reporter: (Inaudible) has there been any response to the idea that they would resume five days earlier?
Ambassador Danforth: It's a very good idea, and a very useful idea because obviously the time is ticking. The clock is ticking, time is moving on. And they have to do whatever is necessary to wrap up the final points of the agreement.
Reporter: (Inaudible)
Ambassador Danforth: Yes. Thank you.
(end transcript)
(Distributed by the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
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