Darfur Peace Agreement

Last updated

The Darfur Peace Agreement may refer to one of three peace agreements that were signed by the Government of Sudan and Darfur-based rebel groups in 2006, 2011 and 2020 with the intention of ending the Darfur Conflict.

Contents

Abuja Agreement (2006)

The 2006 Darfur Peace Agreement Archived 2013-09-28 at the Wayback Machine , also known as the Abuja Agreement, was signed on May 5, 2006 [1] by the government of Sudan headed by Omar al-Bashir along with a faction of the SLA led by Minni Minnawi. However, the agreement was rejected by two other, smaller groups, the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) and a rival faction of the SLA led by Abdul Wahid al Nur. [2] [3]

The 115 page agreement was broad in scope and included issues on national and state power-sharing, demilitarization of the Janjaweed and other militias, an integration of SLM/A and JEM troops into the Sudanese Armed Forces and police, a system of federal wealth-sharing for the promotion of Darfurian economic interests, a referendum on the future status of Darfur and measures to promote the flow of humanitarian aid into the region. [2] [4] [5]

The accord was orchestrated by the chief negotiator Salim Ahmed Salim (working on behalf of the African Union), U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Robert B. Zoellick, AU representatives, and other foreign officials operating in Abuja, Nigeria. Representatives of the AU, Nigeria, Libya, the United States, the UK, the UN, the EU, the Arab League, Egypt, Canada, Norway and the Netherlands served as witnesses to the agreement. [2]

Specifics of the Agreement

The agreement required the Sudanese government of National Unity to complete verifiable disarmament and demobilization of Janjaweed militia by mid-October 2006; it also placed restrictions on the movements of the Popular Defence Forces and required their downsizing. A detailed sequencing and phasing schedule was set up to ensure that the African Union certified that the Janjaweed and other armed militia were disarmed before rebel forces assembled and prepared for their own disarmament and demobilization. The agreement stipulated that 4,000 former combatants be integrated into the Sudanese Armed Forces, 1,000 be integrated into the police forces, and 3,000 be supported through education and training programs. The former combatants were to be integrated in groups of 100-150 and comprise 33 percent of each integrated battalion.

Democratic processes were laid out for the people of Darfur to choose their leaders and determine their status as a region. Rebel signatories of the agreement were awarded the 4th highest position in the Sudanese Government of National Unity: Senior Assistant to the President and Chairperson of the newly established Transitional Darfur Regional Authority (TDRA). The TDRA was given responsibility for implementation of the peace agreement in Darfur, with the rebel movements having effective control of that body. In July 2010, a popular referendum was to be held to decide whether to establish Darfur as a unitary region with a single government. For the three-year period prior to elections, the agreement granted the rebel movements twelve seats in the National Assembly in Khartoum, 21 seats in each of the Darfur State legislatures, one State Governor and two Deputy State Governors in Darfur, senior positions in State Ministries, and key posts in local governments.

The accord committed the international community to holding a donors’ conference to pledge additional funds for Darfur, and invited the TDRA Chairperson to present to that conference a summary of needs and priorities. The GNU is mandated to contribute $300 million initially and then $200 million/year for the next two years to rebuild the region. A Joint Assessment Mission – modeled on the one done for Southern reconstruction after the Comprehensive (North-South) Peace Agreement – was to be established to determine the specific reconstruction and development needs of Darfur.

Buffer zones were to be established around camps for internally displaced persons and humanitarian assistance corridors. A commission was created to work with the United Nations to help refugees and displaced persons return to their homes. The agreement stated that the Sudanese Government would provide $30 million in compensation to victims of the conflict.

Doha Agreement (2011)

The 2011 Darfur Peace Agreement, also known as the Doha Agreement, was signed in July 2011 between the government of Sudan and the Liberation and Justice Movement. This agreement established a compensation fund for victims of the Darfur conflict, allowed the President of Sudan to appoint a vice-president from Darfur, and established a new Darfur Regional Authority to oversee the region until a referendum can determine its permanent status within the Republic of Sudan. [6] The agreement also provided for power sharing at the national level: movements that sign the agreement will be entitled to nominate two ministers and two four ministers of state at the federal level and will be able to nominate 20 members to the national legislature. The movements will be entitled to nominate two state governors in the Darfur region. [7]

Juba Agreement (2020)

On 31 August 2020, a comprehensive peace agreement was signed between the Transitional Government of Sudan on one side and the Sudan Liberation Movement/Army and the Justice and Equality Movement on the other. The agreement stated that the two former rebel groups would join the transition to democracy in Sudan through peaceful means. [8] [9]

Under the terms of the agreement, the factions that signed are entitled to three seats on the sovereignty council, a total of five ministers in the transitional cabinet and a quarter of seats in the transitional legislature. At a regional level, signatories are entitled to between 30 and 40% of the seats on transitional legislatures of their home states or regions. [10] [11]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Omar al-Bashir</span> President of Sudan from 1989 to 2019

Omar Hassan Ahmad al-Bashir is a Sudanese former military officer and politician who served as Sudan's head of state under various titles from 1989 until 2019, when he was deposed in a coup d'état. He was subsequently incarcerated, tried and convicted on multiple corruption charges. He came to power in 1989 when, as a brigadier general in the Sudanese Army, he led a group of officers in a military coup that ousted the democratically elected government of prime minister Sadiq al-Mahdi after it began negotiations with rebels in the south; he subsequently replaced President Ahmed al-Mirghani as head of state. He was elected three times as president in elections that have been under scrutiny for electoral fraud. In 1992, al-Bashir founded the National Congress Party, which remained the dominant political party in the country until 2019. In March 2009, al-Bashir became the first sitting head of state to be indicted by the International Criminal Court (ICC), for allegedly directing a campaign of mass killing, rape, and pillage against civilians in Darfur. On 11 February 2020, the Government of Sudan announced that it had agreed to hand over al-Bashir to the ICC for trial.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Darfur</span> Region of western Sudan

Darfur is a region of western Sudan. Dār is an Arabic word meaning "home [of]" – the region was named Dardaju while ruled by the Daju, who migrated from Meroë c. 350 AD, and it was renamed Dartunjur when the Tunjur ruled the area. Darfur was an independent sultanate for several hundred years until 1874, when it fell to the Sudanese warlord Rabih az-Zubayr. The region was later invaded and incorporated into Sudan by Anglo-Egyptian forces in 1916. As an administrative region, Darfur is divided into five federal states: Central Darfur, East Darfur, North Darfur, South Darfur and West Darfur. Because of the War in Darfur between Sudanese government forces and the indigenous population, the region has been in a state of humanitarian emergency and genocide since 2003. The factors include religious and ethnic rivalry, and the rivalry between farmers and herders.

The Janjaweed are an Arab nomad militia group from the Sahel region that operates in Sudan, particularly in Darfur, and eastern Chad. They have also been speculated to be active in Yemen. According to the United Nations definition, Janjaweed membership consists of Arab nomad tribes from the Sahel, the core of whom are Abbala Arabs, traditionally employed in camel herding, with significant recruitment from the Baggara.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Justice and Equality Movement</span> Sudanese opposition group

The Justice and Equality Movement is an opposition group in Sudan founded by Khalil Ibrahim. Gibril Ibrahim has led the group since January 2012 after the death of Khalil, his brother, in December 2011. The JEM supported the removal of President of Sudan, Omar al-Bashir and nation-wide government reform.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sudan Liberation Movement/Army</span> Darfuri rebel group

The Sudan Liberation Movement/Army is a Sudanese rebel group active in Darfur, Sudan. It was founded as the Darfur Liberation Front by members of three indigenous ethnic groups in Darfur: the Fur, the Zaghawa, and the Masalit, among whom were the leaders Abdul Wahid al-Nur of the Fur and Minni Minnawi of the Zaghawa.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eastern Front (Sudan)</span> Coalition of rebel groups operating in eastern Sudan

The Eastern Front is a coalition of rebel groups operating in eastern Sudan along the border with Eritrea, particularly the states of Red Sea and Kassala. The Eastern Front's Chairman is Musa Mohamed Ahmed. While the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) was the primary member of the Eastern Front, the SPLA was obliged to leave by the January 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement that ended the Second Sudanese Civil War. Their place was taken in February 2004 after the merger of the larger Beja Congress with the smaller Rashaida Free Lions, two tribal based groups of the Beja and Rashaida people, respectively. The Justice and Equality Movement (JEM), a rebel group from Darfur in the west, then joined.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">War in Darfur</span> Genocidal conflict in Southwestern Sudan

The War in Darfur, also nicknamed the Land Cruiser War, was a major armed conflict in the Darfur region of Sudan that began in February 2003 when the Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM) and the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) rebel groups began fighting against the government of Sudan, which they accused of oppressing Darfur's non-Arab population. The government responded to attacks by carrying out a campaign of ethnic cleansing against Darfur's non-Arabs. This resulted in the death of hundreds of thousands of civilians and the indictment of Sudan's president, Omar al-Bashir, for genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity by the International Criminal Court.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">International response to the War in Darfur</span>

While there is a consensus in the international community that ethnic groups have been targeted in Darfur and that crimes against humanity have therefore occurred, there has been debate in some quarters about whether genocide has taken place there. In May 2006, the International Commission of Inquiry on Darfur organized by United Nations "concluded that the Government of the Sudan has not pursued a policy of genocide ... [though] international offences such as the crimes against humanity and war crimes that have been committed in Darfur may be more serious and heinous than genocide." Eric Reeves, a researcher and frequent commentator on Darfur, has questioned the methodology of the commission's report.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Darfur Regional Government</span> Regional governing body in Sudan

The Darfur Regional Government is an administrative body for the Darfur region of the Republic of Sudan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sudan People's Liberation Movement–North</span> Political party and militant organisation in Sudan

The Sudan People's Liberation Movement–North, or SPLM–N, is a political party and militant organisation in the Republic of the Sudan, based in the states of Blue Nile and South Kordofan. The group's armed forces are formally known as the Sudan People's Liberation Army–North or SPLA–N. In 2011 when South Sudan broke away from Sudan to form a new country, most of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) and Army (SPLA) left with it, leaving units remaining across the border in Sudan to form the SPLA–N.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sudanese conflict in South Kordofan and Blue Nile</span> 2011–2020 insurgency in southern Sudan

The Sudanese conflict in South Kordofan and Blue Nile was an armed conflict in the Sudanese states of South Kordofan and Blue Nile between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Sudan People's Liberation Movement–North (SPLM-N), a northern affiliate of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) in South Sudan. After some years of relative calm following the 2005 agreement which ended the second Sudanese civil war between the Sudanese government and SPLM rebels, fighting broke out again in the lead-up to South Sudan independence on 9 July 2011, starting in South Kordofan on 5 June and spreading to the neighboring Blue Nile state in September. SPLM-N, splitting from newly independent SPLM, took up arms against the inclusion of the two southern states in Sudan with no popular consultation and against the lack of democratic elections. The conflict is intertwined with the War in Darfur, since in November 2011 SPLM-N established a loose alliance with Darfuri rebels, called Sudan Revolutionary Front (SRF).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sudan Revolutionary Front</span> Alliance of Sudanese rebel groups

The Sudan Revolutionary Front, or the Sudanese Revolutionary Front (SRF), is an alliance between Sudanese factions that was created in opposition to the government of President Omar al-Bashir. It was declared on 12 November 2011, following several months of support by Darfuri rebel groups for the Sudan People's Liberation Movement-North in the conflict in South Kordofan and Blue Nile.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hemedti</span> Sudanese military officer, former warlord and Janjaweed mercenary

Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, generally referred to mononymously as Hemedti, Hemetti, Hemeti, or Hemitte, is a Janjaweed leader from the Rizeigat tribe in Darfur, who was the Deputy head of the Transitional Military Council (TMC) following the 2019 Sudanese coup d'état. Since 2013, Hemetti has commanded the Rapid Support Forces (RSF). He was considered by The Economist to be the most powerful person in Sudan as of early July 2019.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sudanese transition to democracy (2019–2021)</span> Political transition following the 2019 Sudanese coup détat

A series of political agreements among Sudanese political and military forces for a democratic transition in Sudan began in July 2019. Omar al-Bashir overthrew the democratically elected government of Sadiq al-Mahdi in 1989 and was himself overthrown in the 2019 Sudanese coup d'état, in which he was replaced by the Transitional Military Council (TMC) after months of sustained street protests. Following further protests and the 3 June Khartoum massacre, TMC and the Forces of Freedom and Change (FFC) alliance agreed on 5 July 2019 to a 39-month transition process to return to democracy, including the creation of executive, legislative and judicial institutions and procedures.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Transitional Legislative Council (Sudan)</span> Interim legislative body after President Omar al-Bashirs overthrow

The Transitional Legislative Council of Sudan is an interim legislative body that was planned to have been formed in Sudan as a stage of the 2019 plans for a Sudanese transition to democracy.

The Sudanese peace process consists of meetings, written agreements and actions that aim to resolve the War in Darfur, the Sudanese conflict in South Kordofan and Blue Nile, and armed conflicts in central, northern and eastern Sudan.

The 2019–2022 Sudanese protests were street protests in Sudan which began in mid-September 2019, during Sudan's transition to democracy, about issues which included the nomination of a new Chief Justice and Attorney General, the killing of civilians by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), the toxic effects of cyanide and mercury from gold mining in Northern state and South Kordofan, opposition to a state governor in el-Gadarif and to show trials of Sudanese Professionals Association (SPA) coordinators, and advocating the dismissal of previous-government officials in Red Sea, White Nile, and South Darfur. The protests follow the Sudanese Revolution's street protests and civil disobedience of the early September 2019 transfer of executive power to the country's Sovereignty Council, civilian prime minister Abdalla Hamdok, and his cabinet of ministers. Hamdok described the 39-month transition period as defined by the aims of the revolution.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Juba Peace Agreement</span>

Signed on October 3, 2020, the Juba Peace Agreement is a landmark concord between Sudan's transitional government and a handful of the country's rebel groups. Since Sudan gained its independence in 1956, the nation has been plagued by various civil wars and internal conflicts—namely the Darfur War (2003–2020). Nearly 400,000 people died in the crisis and over 2.5 million were displaced due to the fighting between rebel groups within the region, which heavily prompted the implementation of peace-building legislation after nearly two decades of bloodshed. The Juba Peace Agreement served to amend the 2019 Constitutional Charter in Sudan, which is the most recent in a long line of unsuccessful legislation put in place to equalize the power dynamic between civil government and military/armed force rule.

The Darfur Joint Protection Force, or more simply the Joint Darfur Force/Joint Force, is a formerly defensive force that was set up during the Siege of El Fasher claiming to neutrally protect civilians during the War in Sudan (2023) by peacekeeping. It was formed on 27 April 2023 by four former rebel groups and signatures of the Juba peace agreement. The participating groups are SLM-Minawi, the Justice and Equality Movement, the Sudanese Alliance, and the Gathering of Sudan Liberation Forces. It is currently led by Darfur Region Governor Minni Minnawi.

On January 16, 2021, a massacre against Masalit civilians in Krinding IDP camp in Geneina, Sudan by Arab Janjaweed militants killed 163 people, mostly men, and injured 217 others. The massacre was the deadliest attack against Masalit in Geneina since attacks in 2019 against the Krinding camp that killed 72. The attack was also the first event in Krinding where Masalit self-defense groups fought back against Janjaweed.

References

  1. United Nations. "UNAMID Background". Archived from the original on November 6, 2017. Retrieved May 3, 2012.
  2. 1 2 3 Uppsala Conflict Data Program Conflict Encyclopedia, Peace Agreements, Sudan, Darfur Peace Agreement, "Database - Uppsala Conflict Data Program (UCDP)". Archived from the original on 2016-03-22. Retrieved 2013-07-25.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  3. Kessler, Glenn and Emily Wax (5 May 2006). "Sudan, Main Rebel Group Sign Peace Deal". The Washington Post.
  4. "Main parties sign Darfur accord". BBC News. 5 May 2006.
  5. "Main points of the deal". Aljazeera. 6 May 2006.
  6. "Draft Darfur Peace Agreement" (PDF). Sudan Tribune. 27 April 2011. Archived from the original (PDF) on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 14 July 2011.
  7. "Signing of Doha Agreement prompts mixed reactions | Radio Dabanga". Archived from the original on 2013-11-02. Retrieved 2011-07-17.
  8. "Sudan PM in Juba for peace agreement". Radio Dabanga . 2020-08-31. Archived from the original on 2020-09-01. Retrieved 2020-09-01.
  9. "Sudan signs peace deal with rebel groups from Darfur". Al Jazeera. 31 August 2020.
  10. Dumo, Denis (September 1, 2020). "Sudan signs peace deal with key rebel groups, some hold out". Archived from the original on September 1, 2020 via uk.reuters.com.
  11. "'Historic agreement' signed by Sudan govt, armed groups in Juba". Radio Dabanga. September 2020.