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Implementation of JPA Security Arrangements Better Late than Never

Muawad Mustafa Rashid

In the news the Joint Supreme Security Council for the Juba Peace Agreement(JPA) Security Arrangements under the chairmanship of the President of the Transitional Supreme Council, 1st. Lt. Gen. Abdul Fattah Al-Burhan in the presence of Vice President, 1st Lt. Gen. Mohamed Hamdan Daglo and the attendance of representatives of Darfur Path in the JPA along with the leaders of the peace process, has held a meeting in El-Fashir in which the status of implementing the security arrangements for Darfur Path was discussed besides a brief on the recent security development in Darfur Region.

The meeting also discussed the formation of a joint task force to achieve peace and security in Darfur.

Most importantly is that the President of the Transitional Sovereign Council, 1st Lt. Gen. Abdul Fattah Al-Burhan announced after the meeting the practical step of the security arrangement implementation from El-Fashir which will last for a whole week during which all armed groups are supposed to evacuate their troops from the cities and assemble in the outskirts of the towns.

Al-Burhan admitted that the delay in the implementation of the security arrangements was a threat to the peace process in Darfur as well as the rest of the country, pointing out that the delay is a joint responsibility.

A few months ago 5 of Darfur peace signatory armed movements discussed the non-implementation of the security arrangements item represents a threat to the peace process, hence bringing the country back to war square.

On the other hand, observers pointed out the existence of big loopholes in the security arrangements, accusing the armed groups of attempting to mobilize more troops with fake ranks a matter that confuses the security scene through involving affiliated armed units in civilian areas in the main cities.

It is to be noted that according to the security arrangements of the Juba Peace Agreement the Disarmament, Demobilization, and Reintegration (DDR) of the armed struggle movements’ troops should be completed within 39 months along with the formation of joint forces from the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), Police, and Rapid Support Forces (RSF) to maintain security in Darfur and the two areas to include troops from the armed struggle movement with 30%; but the agreement did not determine the places of assembling those troops.

The 5 peace signatory armed struggle movements issued a statement in which it accused the military component of the transitional government of delaying the security arrangement implementation, affirming that the military component is not serious in the implementation of the security arrangement items.

The government failed to provide logistic support for the armed struggle movements after the signature of the Juba Peace Agreement because there is no budget up to this moment.

The successive Sudanese governments’ negotiations with the rebel groups were always subject to collapse especially when it comes to the security arrangements.

The security arrangements dossier is indeed the most important issue in any peace talks and the agreement on its details makes it easy to strike a deal.

However, without reaching a concrete agreement on the security arrangements the devil of the details will emerge when applying the security arrangements and the clashes might resume even after the signature of the peace deal.

We should recognize that one of the defects of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA)  is that the SPLM kept two divisions (9 and 10) inside the territories of Sudan a matte that led to the resumption of clashes in the two areas (South Kordofan and the Blue Nile).

The intensive meetings on the deployment of the joint national peace forces to replace the UNAMID according to the Juba Peace Agreement (JPA) proposed increasing the troops to 20 thousand instead of 12 thousand as stipulated in JPA to replace the UNAMID troops after the latter’s exit.

The upcoming mission of the transitional government on the issue of peacekeeping is complicated considering that the historic tensions between the farmers and the nomads resumed even before the completion of the UNAMID exit.

After long years of war in Darfur, the citizens of Darfur found themselves facing a new reality dominated by caution and apprehension considering that the government was an essential party in the Darfur conflict.

One of the main issues which are supposed to be given top priority is the training of the proposed troops in dealing with peacekeeping and preventing the clashes amid the components of the Darfur region.

According to security experts, the big defect that accompanied the signing of the Juba Peace Agreement was not built on real political vision as it was signed by the government and some armed struggle movements which lead to absurd movements under political banners.

And added to that several parties do not want the restructuring of the security apparatuses on top of which is the remnants of the ousted regime.

The fragile security situation dominating the country is worrying, and it is obvious that it is planned from influential parties which are attempting to overstep its powers stipulated in the constitutional document after it failed to find a political incubator, hence its failure to exist after achieving the goals of December glorious revolution.

We believe that the delay in the implementation of the security arrangements is a clear violation of the Juba Peace Agreement articles a matter which makes it defective politically and legally.

Each of the government, the signatory armed struggle movements, and the international mediation shoulder the responsibility of delaying the security arrangements item of the Juba Peace Agreement.

There are indeed serious loopholes in the security arrangements item on top of which is the lack of a strict mechanism to confine the armed struggle troops a matter that gave a chance for the attempts of imposing new reality through new recruitments and selling the military ranks.

The Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) remained for long years a model of coherence and professionalism, but during the era of the ousted regime, SAF was subject to breakthroughs that weakened the military institution.

It is high time for the transitional government to work out an emergency plan to implement the security arrangements item, otherwise, the consequences will be disastrous considering that the armed struggle troops are still armored and out of the control of the central government up to this moment.

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