Khartoum, Jan. 10 (Darfur24 )The Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Head of the United Nations Integrated Transition Assistance Mission in Sudan (UNITAMS)|, Volker Perthes, has announced the start of talks on the political transition in Sudan, for reaching an agreement to end the current political crisis and to agree on a sustainable path to progress towards democracy and peace in Sudan.
Volker Perthes said in a press conference held on Monday at UNITAMS headquarters in Khartoum that the consultations come within the framework of the mission’s mandate and its good offices to support the political transition in the country.
“We observed several good Sudanese initiatives in an attempt to surpass the current crisis and to reach the democratic path, but unfortunately these initiatives did not succeed and it is time to end the violence and to resolve the crisis,” he said.
The representative of the Secretary-General said that all major stake-holders, civilians and military, including armed movements, the political parties, the civil society, the women groups and resistance committees, were invited to participate in the political process, noting that these groups had been invited to participate in initial consultations individually.
Perthes pointed out that all of these parties shall play an appropriate role for a greater luck in the initial stage of consultations with all Sudanese actors, as the initiative will be characterized by getting the consultation of these groups individually to obtain their views on the priority issues and agenda, as these groups will present their visions to form an agenda for indirect talks.
The Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Head of UNITAMS strongly denied the reported news that the initiative is based on amendment of the constitutional document, and that it consists of major elements, stressing that the United Nations will not present any draft and that the initiative is mainly based on what the Sudanese men and women come out with.
“We offer consultations, but we will not present projects”, he said, stressing that this news is baseless.
Perthes reiterated the UNITAMS commitment to achieving the aspirations of the Sudanese people, stating that the mission is helping as much as possible to support the political transition towards a peaceful and democratic future, especially that the current suffering affects the lives of all Sudanese in their security, economy and development.