Darfur displaced: ‘Not even 1% of the Juba Peace Agreement has been implemented’

Displaced people in Darfur have expressed their dissatisfaction with “the failure” of the Sudanese transitional government to implement the provisions of the Juba Peace Agreement. According to the Council of Ministers, more resources are required for the implementation.

“We are awaiting in particular the security arrangements, the extradition of wanted persons to the International Criminal Court (ICC), and the return of the Darfur displaced and refugees to their places of origin,” community leader Hussein Abusharati told Radio Dabanga from Kalma camp in South Darfur.

“According to what is included in the Constitutional Document, the Juba Peace Agreement (JPA) has not been implemented by even one per cent so far,” he complained.

“Because the most important clauses of the agreement, represented in the security arrangements, have not yet been implemented, towns and villages in the region remain unsafe until now.”

The most crucial issue, demilitarisation of the many gunmen, has not begun yet. “The collection of illegally owned weapons should have started immediately after the signing of the peace agreement. The ongoing insecurity is still preventing people from cultivating their farms and leaving their villages.”

Abusharati further mentioned the delayed start of the transitional justice programme and the voluntary return programme for the displaced and refugees by reconstructing the many destroyed villages and removing foreign settlers from their lands.

‘The ongoing insecurity is still preventing people from cultivating their farms and leaving their villages.’ –  displaced leader Hussein Abusharati

“The promised extradition of the indicted officials, among them ousted President Omar Al Bashir to the ICC in The Hague, seems to be postponed over and over again.”

Funds needed

According to the Council of Ministers, more resources are required to implement the security arrangements protocol of the JPA, signed in the South Sudan capital on October 3 last year.

In a statement on Monday, marking the first anniversary of the peace agreement, the Council of Ministers said that more funding is needed to implement the security arrangements and the Voluntary Return Programme, realise a comprehensive reform of the security sector and ensure the formation of a national single and professional army.

The Cabinet announced its readiness to resume negotiations with the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North under the leadership of Abdelaziz El Hilu at the Juba platform. It also welcomed the recent call of Abdelwahid El Nour for dialogue and invited him to Khartoum to start the dialogue process “in all freedom”.

The UN Special Representative for Sudan and head of the UN Integrated Transition Assistance Mission in Sudan (UNITAMS), Volker Perthes, in September appealed to the international community to help funding the Sudanese peace process.

On Thursday last week, the UN and the Government of Norway convened a High-Level Side Event on Sudan in support of the transition process. Delegations from a large number of member states, UNITAMS, and international and regional organisations, attended the meeting.

In a statement on Sunday, the Sudan Troika (USA, UK, and Norway) expressed their serious concerns about the delays in the implementation of the JPA. “This includes establishing the Peace Commission, the Monitoring and Evaluation Mechanism, the Transitional Legislative Assembly, and establishing the Darfur Security Keeping Forces and the JPA security arrangements.

“Progress is needed now. We urge all JPA signatories to demonstrate leadership and work together to refocus on implementation to deliver much needed peace and security for the people,” the Troika said.