UK Plumbly appointed as head of Sudan’s peace monitoring body

February 12, 2008 (KHARTOUM) – Sudanese president, Omer Al-Bashir, has appointed a British diplomat as head of a body charged with the monitoring of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement.

Sir Derek Plumbly, is appointed today as chairman of the Assessment and Evaluation Commission following the resignation of the former Norwegian president of the AEC, Tom Vraalsen, last December.

A career diplomat, Sir Derek Plumbly has spent much of his working life in the Arab world. Up to 2005 he was the UK’s ambassador to Egypt; he had held a number of postings in Saudi Arabia and Egypt.

He also headed the British Foreign Office’s Middle East and North Africa desk.

As independent body, the Assessment and Evaluation Commission is established by the President of the Republic to monitor the CPA implementation during the Interim Period. This Commission conducts a mid-term evaluation of the unity arrangements established under the Comprehensive Peace Agreement.

(ST)