Assembly/AU/ Dec.338(XVI) Page 4 15. REITERATES AU’s commitment to recognize and support the outcome of the Referendum, and CALLS ON AU partners and the larger international community to do the same; 16. EXPRESSES CONCERN at the precarious security situation in Darfur and REITERATES the need for an immediate cessation of hostilities and an end to all acts of violence. The Assembly PAYS TRIBUTE to UNAMID and to its leadership for their commitment, EXPRESSES its full support and confidence in the Joint Special Representative, Prof. Ibrahim Gambari, and ENCOURAGES the Mission to pursue and intensify its efforts to improve the security situation on the ground, protect the civilian population and provide support to needy Darfur populations, and for early socio-economic recovery; 17. NOTES the protracted negotiations and the slow and limited progress in the Doha political talks, and STRESSES THE NEED to ensure the speedy conclusion of the Doha peace negotiations. The Assembly, ONCE AGAIN, DEMANDS that all the parties, in particular the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) and the Sudan Liberation Army (SLA/Abdul Wahid), engage in good faith in negotiations towards a ceasefire, and extend the necessary cooperation to the Joint Chief Mediator (JCM) and the State of Qatar; 18. REITERATES the critical importance of the Darfur-based Political Process (DPP) and its immediate commencement as an important mechanism to assist the people of Darfur to participate in and support the peace process, in line with the recommendations of the AU High-Level Panel on Darfur (AUPD) as endorsed by the AU at the highest level and the Conclusions of the 2nd meeting of the Sudan Consultative Forum held in Addis Ababa on 6 November 2010, under the co-chair of the AU and the UN. In this respect, the Assembly WELCOMES the agreement reached with the GoS regarding the launch of the DPP under the auspices of the AUHIP and UNAMID, in partnership with Qatar, and the active participation of the League of Arab States and other partners, to result in a Darfur-Darfur Conference that will promote a lasting political solution to the conflict in Darfur. The Assembly REQUESTS the Commission to see to it that the JCM harmonize and coordinate the final phase of its activities in line with the DPP and in close coordination with the AUHIP and UNAMID. The Assembly WELCOMES the commitment of the State of Qatar to support and contribute to the DPP and PAYS TRIBUTE to the Qatari authorities for their commitment to peace in Darfur and Sudan as a whole; 19. REITERATES ITS FULL SUPPORT to the work of the AUHIP under the leadership of former Presidents Thabo Mbeki, Abdusalami Abubakar and Pierre Buyoya, which is making a major contribution to the quest for peace, justice and reconciliation in Sudan; 20. WELCOMES the visit undertaken to Sudan, in October 2010, by a delegation of the AU Ministerial Committee on Post-Conflict Reconstruction on Sudan, led by the Minister of International Relations and Cooperation of the Republic of South Africa, in her capacity as Chair of the Committee, and LOOKS FORWARD to the timely