EL FASHER, Sudan - Chief of the United Nations-African Union Mission in Darfur (UNAMID) Ibrahim Gambari on Monday urged the international community and all concerned parties to accelerate the implementation of the Doha Document for Peace in Darfur (DDPD).

Addressing the second meeting of the DDPD Implementation Follow up Commission (IFC) in El Fasher, capital of North Darfur State, Gambari stressed the importance of cooperation and commitment of all parties for the DDPD's implementation.

At the meeting held six months after the signing of the document, the UNAMID chief stressed the urgency to press ahead efforts to achieve peace in Darfur and to allow the refugees to return to their homes.

He added that the peace process still faces challenges and that to overcome them, all parties should work together and speed up the implementation of the DDPD so that the people of the region would feel tangible work is done on the ground.

Sudan's North Darfur State Governor Osman Yousif Kibir, for his part, reiterated the improvement of Darfur's security situation, saying that there is freedom for traveling and the region is starting to shift from "the state of emergency to the state of development."

An internally displaced girl digs a hole at the Abu Shouk camp near El Fasher January 16, 2012. [Photo/Agencies]

The governor noted that some refugees returned on their own to their homes in Darfur from Chad due to the improved security and went on to urge more armed movements to join the DDPD and contribute to the reconstruction of the region.

Meanwhile, Ahmed Bin Abdulla Al Mahmoud, Minister of State for Cabinet Affairs of the State of Qatar and chief of the IFC said his country is ready to provide all necessary facilitation for the DDPD implementation.

"The meeting in El Fasher promises stability, peace and security in Darfur and the situation is being improved toward the realization of just and comprehensive peace for the region," he said.

Mahmoud explained that the priorities of the IFC focus on convincing more armed movements to join the document, pledging that the document is open for all movements.

The DDPD IFC brought together the government of Sudan and the Liberation and Justice Movement as well as monitors and representatives from 15 countries and organizations including China, Russia, the United States, the European Union, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation and the UNAMID.