Sudanese rights watchdog welcomes eastern Sudan Peace deal

Oct 19, 2006 — The Sudan Human Rights Organization (SHRO-Cairo) welcomes the peace agreement signed in the Eritrean capital Asmara on October 14th between the Government of Sudan and the East Front. Ending 11 years of armed conflict, the agreement is a positive step that may possibly establish stability and progression, instead of the deteriorating conditions of a region so negligently ignored.

The Organization welcomes the call by agreement to suspend the state of emergency in Eastern Sudan. We regret, however, that the 3 protocols that deal with the security arrangements and the sharing of wealth and power are not addressed to the significant issues of the Port Sudan’s massacres (January 2005); the detention, apprehension, and accountability of the accused persons; the compensation of victims; the cases of corruption and abuses of authority; and the waste of the region’s wealth.

SHRO believes that the Asmara agreement replicates the same shortcomings of the Naivasha and the Abuja bilateral agreements to the exclusion of other parties in the region, besides the main political forces of the country and the civil society groups. The Organization is deeply concerned that the Government’s determination to undertake unilateral negotiations only with armed groups may create new armed conflicts. In actual fact, disenchanted groups have already claimed that the East Front represented only three tribal groups in the region. In dissatisfaction, the Chief of the holy town of Hamashkoraib has also rejected the agreement.

The Organization holds that the agreement is apparently a deal; not a treaty body for the establishment of a real change in the center-region’s imbalanced shares of power and wealth. The Agreement maintains the political hegemony of the ruling National Congress Party (NCP). The Agreement doesn’t provide sufficient funds to develop the region since the Government’s pledge of providing 600 million dollars in 5 years will not remedy the complex deficiencies of the region, which includes compensation of the war-affected communities, rehabilitation of the economic infrastructure, and provision for the health, education and the other vital social services.

The Asmara agreement fails to define clearly the role of the military, security, and police forces. Similarly, the representation ratio of the inhabitants in the civil service institutions is ambiguous.

There is an urgent need to include, without delay, all of the local parties that have been excluded from the peace negotiations.

SHRO supports the NDA call to unify the Naivasha, Abuja, and Asmara agreements in one comprehensive treaty body under the auspices of the United Nations with full participation of the Sudanese parties and civil society.