Sudan pledges $750 million a year for peace and development in Darfur

The Sudanese government and the armed movements have agreed to establish a Fund for Peace Support and Sustainable Development in Darfur within two months of the signing of the peace.

According to the comprehensive peace agreement signed by the Sudanese government and the Sudan Revolutionary Front rebel alliance in the South Sudan capital Juba on Monday, the government of Sudan will annually pay an amount of $750 million to the Peace Support Fund for the period of 10 years, to finance the implementation of the peace agreement in Darfur.

The government will also provide an amount of $100 million within a month of the date of signing the peace agreement, to fill immediate financial gaps in order to implement the peace agreement in Darfur.

The two parties agreed to allocate 40 per cent of the state’s net revenues from Darfur mineral and oil resources for the benefit of the region for a period of 10 years. A Reconstruction and Development Commission and the Darfur Development Bank will be established for this purpose.

The Darfur government shall allocate at least three per cent of the revenues from natural resources to the population in the areas from which these resources are extracted.

The peace agreement further stipulates that all displaced people and refugees have the right to voluntarily return to their place of origin, provided that they are fairly compensated for the losses incurred on homes, lands or properties.

In case displaced people and refugees are unable to return or recover their property, they are entitled to a fair compensation for their losses and psychological damages resulting from forced displacement, through the Compensation Fund.

In support of positive discrimination policies, the two parties agreed to exempt Darfuri students at public universities outside the Darfur region from tuition fees for a period of 10 years from the date of the signing of the peace agreement.

The agreement also stipulated the allocation of 20 per cent of scholarships, rehabilitation, and training opportunities in Sudan and abroad to the sons and daughters of Darfur.

A joint committee of the two parties in Juba yesterday began preparing a matrix and schedules for the implementation of the peace agreement.

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