Japan's Assistance to Support the African Union's Initiative in Darfur

March 28, 2005

The Government of Japan has decided to contribute US$2,070,000 to the African Union (AU) to support their initiative with respect to the conflict in Darfur. The Japanese Embassy in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, informed the AU side of this decision today.
Japan's contribution of US$2,070,000 will be used to support (i) AU Mission in Sudan (AMIS), Joint Commission and Ceasefire Commission (US$1,440,000), (ii) Darfur Integrated Task Force (DITF) (US$130,000), (iii) N'Djamena Liaison Office (US$300,000) and (iv) Abuja Talks (US$200,000).
In Darfur in western Sudan, domestic conflict intensified in 2003 and has caused a serious humanitarian crisis, producing a large number of refugees and internally displaced persons. Since a ceasefire was agreed in April, 2004, the AU has been taking the lead in ensuring its effective enforcement by, among others, sending a mission (AMIS) to Darfur to monitor the ceasefire and perform other mandates, while at the same time it has been making efforts to mediate a peace agreement among the relevant parties.
Japan's assistance for the AU's initiative with respect to Darfur is part of Japan's initiative on "consolidation of peace" in Africa. In the Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD) process, Japan has been prioritizing "consolidation of peace" as one of the three key pillars of its cooperation policy with Africa. Japan hopes that this assistance will promote consolidation of peace in Darfur by contributing to improvement in the security situation there and progress in the peace process.

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