The Darfur Women’s Action Group (DWAG) released a statement about the peace agreement signed by the Sudanese government and the rebel alliances on Oct. 3. 2020. This article was published in the November-December 2020 issue of NewsNotes.
… “DWAG, and many others, remain skeptical of the peace agreement and the absence of the two powerful rebel groups reinforce the uncertainty that will ensue the signing ceremony....
“For the millions still living in displacement and refugee camps, peace is not simply an agreement between leaders and celebration but the recognition of and commitment to their safety and security. It is the restoration of their stolen land, a sense of justice against their struggles with lawlessness, and a guarantee of their safe return to their lands of origin.
“DWAG, therefore, calls on all parties to ensure that peace must be inclusive and responsive to the needs and aspirations of the affected communities. We further call on all parties to allow for a detailed step-by-step plan for capacity-building and an increase in the participation of women on all levels of decision-making pertaining to peace agreements, their implementation, and the interim process.
“We call on the international community and the regional actors overseeing the peace process in Sudan to ensure that peace must be inclusive and accountability measures must be put in place to hold all parties accountable if they fail to implement the agreement.
“We further call on the Sudanese interim government as well as the regional and international stakeholders to make an effort to bring both the Sudanese Liberation Movement — the largest Darfuri opposition group, led by Abdel Wahid El Nur — and Abdelaziz Al-Hilu of Nuba Mountains to address their concerns, respond to their demands and retrieve their signatures to ensure that peace and security arrangements are complete, comprehensive, and sustainable.”§
Read the full statement at https://bit.ly/3jJNf9v
Women in Darfur, 2008. Photo credit: EU/ECHO