CAIRO: International donors are to gather in Egypt s capital on Sunday with a $2 billion target for the reconstruction of Darfur, Sudan s western region devastated by a seven-year war. The one-day conference has been organized by the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC), which groups 57 members to form the world s largest Islamic assembly, and is to be co-chaired by host Egypt and Turkey. Around 25 non-OIC member states and 50 international organizations and NGOs have also been invited to take part. The $2 billion which the conference aims to raise is to finance in cooperation with Khartoum a long list of development projects in agriculture, water supply, health and education. The conference aims to send a clear message to the international community that development is a key factor in achieving peace and stability in Darfur, the host nation said in a statement. Aid to Darfur has so far concentrated on humanitarian and relief efforts. But organizers are trying to shift gear by working on a more long-term vision for Darfur through development and reconstruction projects. Funds raised can either be directly poured into projects or go through the OIC in coordination with the government of Sudan. The OIC is to form a follow-up committee tasked with overseeing the running of projects. The ministerial level conference also hopes to provide an incentive to all Darfur movements to join the peace process which has been taking place in Doha, the host said. Negotiations between the government of Sudan and Darfur rebel groups led Thursday to the signing of a framework peace accord between Khartoum and a small Darfur rebel group, the Liberation and Justice Movement (LJM). Last month, an accord was inked by Khartoum and the Justice and Equality Movement, in a move hailed by the international community as a major step toward bringing peace to Darfur. But the talks have since run into difficulty. A key rebel group, the Sudan Liberation Army faction of Abdelwahid Nur, has so far rejected negotiations with Khartoum and earlier this month fought fierce clashes with the army in the fertile Jebel Marra plateau in the heart of Darfur. The Cairo conference comes three weeks before Sudan holds its first multi-party elections since 1986. Egypt and a number of OIC countries are strong allies of Sudanese President Omar al-Beshir who is wanted by the International Criminal Court for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity. The OIC has condemned the arrest warrant against Beshir, saying it undermined peace efforts in Darfur and stability in Sudan. Through the conference, Cairo will also raise its regional profile, after Qatar s leading role in negotiations between Khartoum and Darfur rebels despite Egypt s proximity to Sudan. Since ethnic minority rebels first rose up against the Arab-dominated government in Khartoum in 2003, the Darfur conflict has claimed about 300,000 lives and left 2.7 million people homeless, according to UN figures. Khartoum puts the death toll at 10,000.
