The Group of 19 (G-19) was a grouping of rebel commanders who broke away from the Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM) following the signing of the Darfur Peace Agreement in May 2006. The group has subsequently divided and in practice no longer exists. Many of its commanders have now re-aligned themselves as the SLM/Non-Signatory Front (NSF), while others remain closer to the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM).
Our ambassador in Khartoum and the UK permanent representative-designate to the United Nations in New York, John Sawers, met NSF and JEM representatives in El Fasher on 7 March. They pressed them on the need for a comprehensive ceasefire, to protect access for humanitarian workers and to be part of a renewed political process led by the African Union (AU) and UN.
The UK supports the efforts of the AU and UN special envoys for the peace process, Salim Ahmed Salim and Jan Eliasson, to re-start urgently political negotiations between the Government of Sudan and rebels on Darfur. We have also been supporting efforts by the SLM to organise a commanders’ conference in North Darfur, which aims at unifying the rebel movements with the aim of participating in new negotiations with a clearer voice.