New York

19 July 2007

Statement attributable to the Spokesperson for the Secretary-General on the Darfur political process

The Secretary-General welcomes the constructive outcome of the broadly attended international meeting on the situation in Darfur which was convened by the African Union and United Nations Special Envoys and hosted by the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya in Tripoli from 15-16 July, 2007. The meeting reconfirmed the strong international support for AU / UN leadership role in negotiations towards a comprehensive political solution to the conflict in Darfur. It also validated the AU / UN plan to convene a meeting on 3-5 August in Arusha, to be followed by the issuance of invitations to the parties to begin comprehensive political negotiations later that same month.

The Secretary-General is determined to move forward expeditiously with the implementation of the roadmap for the political process in Darfur and strongly calls on all parties to engage in good faith in forthcoming political negotiations in order to achieve lasting peace and bring this terrible tragedy to an end.