Sudan forms ceasefire commission to oversee north-south truce

Nov 2, 2005 (KHARTOUM) — Sudan’s President Omar al-Beshir has issued a decree establishing a body to oversee implementation of the permanent ceasefire with former southern rebels nearly 10 months after they signed a peace deal.

The president also issued a decree naming members of the National Petroleum Commission created in late October in line with the accords that ended more than two decades of north-south war, officials said Wednesday.

The accords called for the formation of a number of commissions, including the Constitutional Review Commission that drafted the country’s interim constitution and the yet to be formed Human Rights Commission.

Officials said the presidential decree establishing the Ceasefire Political Commission used the January 9 peace agreement as a reference to determine membership in the commission.

Under the deal, the commission’s members would include a representative each from the ruling National Congress Party and its peace partner, the southern Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM).

“One senior officer each from the SAF (Sudan Armed Forces) and SPLA (Sudan People’s Liberation Army)” would also be members in the commission, the agreement said.

It also named as members of the commission the UN special envoy in Sudan and a representative of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), which sponsored the negotiations that led to the signing of the accords.

The main responsibility of the commission will be to “supervise, monitor, and oversee the implementation” of the ceasefire that came into force after signing of the January 9 Comprehensive Peace Agreement.

The UN has begun deploying a 10,000-strong peace support contingent to help the parties carry out their obligations under the ceasefire deal.

(AFP/ST)