MR. KELLY: Good morning. We’re very pleased to have with us today Scott Gration. General Gration grew up in the now Democratic Republic of Congo and Kenya. He served in the Air Force from 1974 to 2006. Among his assignments, in 1995, he was in command of the 4404th Operations Group in Saudi Arabia. In 1996, he was in Turkey and oversaw Operation Northern Watch, which enforced, as you know, the no-fly zone over Iraq. Among his Pentagon assignments, in 2000 and 2001 he was Deputy Director for Operations in the Joint Staff in Washington and was also Director, Strategy Plans and Policy Directorate of the United States European Command in Stuttgart. General Gration speaks Swahili and has a Masters – well, he has a B.A. from Rutgers and a Masters from Georgetown in National Security Studies.
General Gration was appointed as the President’s Special Envoy to Sudan on March 18, 2009, and we’re very pleased to have him with us here today. He’ll make some remarks and then take a few questions.
MR. GRATION: Thank you very much for that kind introduction, and good morning. I appreciate the opportunity to be here today to share some of the things that I’ve learned since becoming the Special Envoy to Sudan. I’ll tell you what we’ve been doing in the last three months, and then I’ll give you an idea of what we plan to do in the next few months.
Since my appointment on the 18th of March I’ve made three overseas trips. The first was to Sudan, where I traveled to Darfur, Juba, Abyei, and to Khartoum. The second was to Sudan’s neighborhood, to Doha, to Cairo, N’Djamena. The last trip was to London and Paris and
Beijing. I’ve learned through these trips that we need to have constructive dialogue with the international community, with all parties in Sudan. We need to have engagement with all parties to save lives in Sudan, to bring about a lasting peace. More suffering in Sudan is simply unacceptable. We need engagement to make a positive difference in Darfur. We need engagement to fully implement the Comprehensive Peace Agreement.
This isn’t about discussions only. It’s about making a difference in the lives of the Sudanese people. It’s about getting results.
Our initial efforts to build multiple channels of dialogue have produced some positive results. We’ve been able to work with the Government of Sudan and NGOs and the United Nations to restore humanitarian assistance capacity in Darfur. Three new NGOs are joining the international humanitarian assistance team in Darfur. Along with that, the UN and remaining NGOs have been able to increase their capacity. And we’ve essentially closed the humanitarian gap that existed in Darfur when the 13 NGOs were expelled.
The situation remains fragile, and the short-term interventions by USAID and its partners still need to be strengthened. The constructive dialogue will also help us negotiate a ceasefire in Darfur so that the people living in IDP camps and refugee camps have the opportunity to move back to a place of their own choosing and to be able to live in safety and security and dignity.
This dialogue engagement is also helping us in the second round of the talks in Doha, a process that’s designed to produce a political settlement to Darfur, a process that is designed to improve relations between Chad and Sudan, and to stop the fighting and violence that has been so disruptive. The dialogue and engagement will also be critical as we implement all the aspects of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement.
Before the referendum for self-determination is held on January 2011, we have a lot of work to do. We have to secure agreements on border demarcations, wealth sharing, power sharing. In addition, we have to make sure that all parties are involved to ensure that places like Abyei do not become the next war zone in Sudan. To successfully tackle these challenges, we need the support of the international community. We must continue to deepen and broaden international coordination in Sudan.
One initiative in this direction is the Forum for Supporters of the CPA. This event that will be held on the 23rd is an event where we will bring together over 30 countries and organizations to help restore that international commitment and to rekindle the passion that we had in Naivasha in 2005 when the CPA was signed.
Before I take your questions, let me tell you about the tight timeline that we have to work within. We only have eight months to get ready for the national elections, and we only have 19 months before that referendum that will determine the future of Abyei and of Southern Sudan. With these events fast approaching, it’s absolutely critical that we work together, that we seize every opportunity to save lives, to facilitate a lasting peace in Sudan, and to promote stability and security in the entire region.
I’m ready for your questions.
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