Sudan (Darfur)

“Concrete steps” must be taken towards ending impunity for atrocity crimes in Darfur, the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) told the Security Council on Wednesday, during her briefing on Sudan. Emboldened by positive political changes over the last six months, since the overthrow of former dictator Omar Al Bashir, that include a Constitutional Declaration, and a new Sovereign Council and Cabinet, Fatou Bensouda expressed her hope that “Sudan will honour its commitments to deliver justice” for the victims of civil conflict in the restive Darfur region, stretching back decades.

The United States no longer has an adversarial relationship with the Sudanese government and is working with its counterparts on the possibility of removing it from a list of state sponsors of terrorism, a senior State Department official said on Friday.

The Governor of North Darfur, Maj Gen Malik al-Tayeb Khojali, ordered Tuesday to take all necessary measures to facilitate and accelerate the humanitarian access to all areas, including areas under the control of armed groups. … The government and the Sudanese Revolutionary Front on 11 September signed the Juba Declaration of Confidence Building Measures and the Preparation for Negotiation.

The Security Council has extended the mandate of the Darfur peacekeeping mission (UNAMID) for one year, putting aside its initial plan to withdraw troops by the end of June 2020.

Sudan has agreed to open humanitarian access to war-torn areas of the country for the first time in eight years as part of a new roadmap enabling suspended peace talks to resume, a rebel leader said on Monday. "We are expecting that the humanitarian situation is going to improve in Darfur, Nuba Mountains and Blue Nile," Yasir Arman, deputy head of a coalition of rebel groups, told Reuters.

Sudanese government has requested to align the UNAMID drawdown from the war-ravaged Darfur region with the ongoing peace process in the country, the head of the UN peacekeeping department told the Security Council.

Despite major political developments at a national level, which have led to the establishment of a civilian-led government, the security situation in the Darfur region of Sudan remains unstable, UN peace chief Jean-Pierre Lacroix briefed the Security Council on Thursday.

United Nations and African Unions officials are in Khartoum for talks with the Sudanese officials on the future of Darfur peacekeeping mission which is planned to withdraw by June 2020.

A rebel umbrella gathering three factions in Darfur, Sudan Liberation Forces Alliance (SLFA), on Wednesday extended the unilateral cessation of hostilities for three months. The extension of ceasefire intervenes few days after agreeing with three other groups: the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM), headed by Gibril Ibrahim, Sudan Liberation Movement-Minni Minnawi (SLM-MM) and the SLM Traditional Council of Hadi Idriss to unify their negotiating position before to engage in talks with the transitional government in Khartoum.