Sudan is committed to resolving all the remaining disputes related to its peace accord with South Sudan, including border demarcation issues and the division of oil revenues, the country's Foreign Minister told the General Assembly on Monday. Ali Ahmed Karti told the Assembly's annual general debate that his country had accepted South Sudan's decision to secede in July – not because it did not want unity, but because it wanted stability and sustainable peace. South Sudanese voted overwhelmingly for separation in a referendum at the start of the year, held as part of the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) that ended the long-running north-south civil war in Sudan. But the two countries remain divided on some issues since secession, including how to divide revenues from oil production and the exact border between them. In his address Karti said the Government in Khartoum was also giving priority to resolving the conflict in the western region of Darfur, which has been waged since 2003. He backed the recently signed Doha Document for Peace in Darfur, a Qatari-mediated agreement aimed at spurring an eventual comprehensive accord to end the conflict, saying it responded to all the aspirations of the people of the remote and arid region. Karti said the resettlement of internally displaced persons (IDPs) and refugees as a result of the conflict was now one of the key elements of the Government's strategy to bring peace back to Darfur, where rebel groups have fought Government forces and allied militiamen. Karti met on Monday with Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, and the UN chief commended Khartoum for its peaceful implementation of the South Sudan referendum. He encouraged the Foreign Minister to work towards resolving all remaining issues. But Ban voiced concern over continued deadly fighting in Southern Kordofan and Blue Nile states, which lie next to the border with South Sudan, and he called on the Sudanese Government to make progress so that a cessation of hostilities can be struck and humanitarian workers can reach those affected by the fighting. BM
