PSC/PR/COMM(CXCVIII) Page 2 Council strongly calls upon the signatories to work towards the implementation of the Agreement and to engage in substantive negotiations without preconditions. Council encourages the efforts being deployed by the AU/UN Joint Chief Mediator, Djibril Yipènè Bassolé, Libya and the Government of Qatar, as well as other regional and international partners, especially the newly appointed US Special Envoy for Darfur, Jonathan Scott Gration, to push forward the peace process, including the support provided for the process of unifying the armed movements signatories to the Tripoli Pact; 8. Stresses the need for speedy progress in the search for peace, security, justice and reconciliation in Darfur, bearing in mind that civilians in that region continue to be exposed to an unacceptable risk of violence, millions of people continue to live in IDP camps or as refugees in neighboring Chad and the increasing frustration in the IDP camps, as well as the need to create inclusive and broad-based conditions conducive for the successful holding in Darfur of the April 2010 national elections, provided for by the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA), and the fact that some provisions of the Darfur Peace Agreement (DPA) of 5 May 2006 will expire in 2010, with the elections and the scheduled referendum on whether Darfur should be one region or remain as constituted presently with three regional States; 9. Calls on all the Sudanese parties to demonstrate the necessary political will and engage in dialogue without preconditions. In this respect, Council notes the expressed readiness of the Government of the Sudan to engage in negotiations with the armed movements. Council strongly condemns the military operations in Muhajirya and around Karnoi and Um Buru, as well as all other acts of violence, and urges the Government of the Sudan and the armed movements, in particular the JEM, to refrain from any military action; 10. Expresses its conviction that the achievement of lasting peace and reconciliation in Darfur requires that the Sudanese stakeholders take full ownership of the process, with the international community playing a supportive role. In this respect, Council welcomes the increasing engagement of all the Sudanese stakeholders in search for a solution to the crisis in Darfur, as demonstrated by the Sudan’s People Forum (SPF) of October 2008, and encourages them to build on the recommendations made by the SPF in their quest for peace and reconciliation in Darfur; 11. Stresses the need for the ongoing efforts to re-energize the political process between the conflicting parties and accelerate the deployment of UNAMID to be complemented by renewed initiatives for peacemaking at local level. In this respect, Council reiterates its support for the efforts being made by local authorities, tribal chiefs and, in selected places, UNAMID, including through Quick Impact Projects, which have succeeded in reducing violence, principally through a succession of inter-tribal peace agreements. Council underlines the importance of the Darfur-Darfur Dialogue and Consultation (DDDC), as a means of ensuring the involvement of all the Darfurian stakeholders in the search for peace and reconciliation, and calls for increased financial support to the DDDC process; 12. Expresses its profound appreciation to the AU High-Level Panel on Darfur (AUPD) and to its Chairperson, former President Thabo Mbeki, for the extensive consultations it has undertaken with the Sudanese and international stakeholders, including the public hearings organized, in Khartoum and Darfur, with a wide range of stakeholders (Darfurian military commanders, political parties, civil society organizations and tribal