The Chairperson of the Commission of the African Union (AU), Prof. Alpha Oumar Konare, will visit the region of Darfur in western Sudan from 20 - 21 June 2004.

The Chairperson is traveling to Darfur, as part of efforts by the African Union, to create a propitious environment for implementing the Humanitarian Ceasefire Agreement signed by the parties to facilitate the work of the humanitarian Agencies. The Chairperson will also urge the Sudanese parties to respect the Ceasefire Agreement. This visit is also aimed at further mobilising the international community to provide urgently needed assistance to the affected civilian population in Darfur and the refuges in neighbouring Chad.

The Chairperson will be accompanied by amongst others, the Chairperson of the Peace and Security Council for the month of June, 2004, representatives of UN Agencies and African NGO's, the African Commission on Human and Peoples rights, as well as representatives of African and international media.

It will be recalled that since the AU Peace and Security Council (PSC) was seized with the crisis in Darfur, it has continued to express serious concerns over the destruction and continuing humanitarian crisis as well as reported human rights violations, even while stressing the need for the Government of Sudan and the opposition movements to ensure the protection of the civilian population. The PSC has also mandated the deployment of African Monitors in Darfur to ensure the effective monitoring of the cease-fire Agreement. Already, the AU has appointed the Chairman of the Ceasefire Commission (CFC), who along with other members of the Commission and some AU Monitors have arrived in Darfur. It is expected that the Commission will become fully operational today. The rest of the Monitors are expected to be in Darfur within the next week, to help the Sudanese parties address allegations of Ceasefire violations.