Darfur conference closes with Qatar as largest donor

HE the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of State for Cabinet Affairs Ahmed bin Abdullah al-Mahmoud says Qatar’s aid to Darfur will come in the form of grants and contributions for stability and development.

By Hamza Jilani/Staff ReporterThe two-day International Donor Conference for Reconstruction and Development in Darfur raised $3.6bn in pledges with the host Qatar making the largest contribution of $500mn on the final day yesterday.Qatar’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of State for Cabinet Affairs, HE Ahmed bin Abdullah al-Mahmud, said a total of $3.6bn was pledged at the meeting attended by hundreds of international delegates, including the contribution of Sudan’s government set by a July 2011 peace deal at $2.65bn.The raised funds will be injected into the Darfur development bank – a financial management system for the rehabilitation of the war-ravaged area, roughly the size of France, in Sudan.While the raised funds were only half of the initial $7.2bn target for the next six years, Jorg Kuhnel, head of communication of the UN Development Programme in Sudan, said more commitments are expected and “the conference doesn’t need to raise the $7.2bn today”. He said  pledges were enough to start the “foundational and short-term activities” in Darfur.“What we need to raise is sufficient funds to start implementation and to build credibility of the process. And this we have already achieved at this stage,” he said.The funds come in the form of grants, loans, banking facilities, credits and technical assistance, and the immediate cash support totaling $177.4mn of which Qatar contributing $88.5mn.The government of Sudan renewed its commitment to provide $2.65bn which was described in the Doha Document for Peace in Darfur (DDPD) – considered to be the main entry point for the sequenced transition from aid dependence in humanitarian assistance and handouts to development and urbanisation of Darfur. It also aims to attract other parties to sign the peace agreement. The Sudanese authority also pledged to provide all necessary legal, procedural, security and logistical facilities to all parties and for all projects mentioned in the DDS to enable and ensure access and free movement.The involved parties also agreed on holding an Investment Conference on Darfur and to convene another donor conference within two years  to follow up on performances of the various efforts and pledges recently made for Darfur’s development as well as the payment of outstanding commitments. A technical follow-up committee was also endorsed to be chaired by Qatar.Qatar also confirmed its commitment to contribute to the capital of a two-billion-dollar Darfur Development Bank, initially with $200mn, said Amin Sharkawi, the deputy country director of the United Nations Development Programme.The other donors included European Union ,Germany , Britain and Darfur’s neighbour Chad.The meeting came 10 years after rebels rose up in the western Sudanese region to seek an end to what they said was the domination of power and wealth by the country’s Arab elite.In response, government-backed Arab Janjaweed militia committed alleged atrocities against civilians, prompting an arrest warrant for President Omar al-Bashir over alleged war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide.