DARFUR IN PERSPECTIVE

By Professor David Hoile

Published by The European - Sudanese Public Affairs Council

Appendix 2

THE MAY 2004 AGREEMENT WITH THE SUDANESE PARTIES ON THE MODALITIES FOR THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE CEASEFIRE COMMISSION AND THE DEPLOYMENT OF OBSERVERS IN THE DARFUR

I. TERMS OF REFERENCE
The Humanitarian Ceasefire Agreement on the conflict in the Darfur, signed in N'Djamena on 8 April 2004, provides, in its articles 3 and 4, for a Ceasefire Monitoring Committee, which shall report to a Joint Commission consisting of the Parties, the Chadian mediation and the international community. To implement the above provisions, the African Union is proposing that the Parties agrees on the followings:

1. Joint Commission
A. The Joint Commission shall operate on the basis of consensus and consist of two senior members each, from the Parties, the Chadian mediation, the African Union (AU), the US and the EU. The Chairman of the Joint Commission shall be selected by the AU from an African Union Member State. Other International Representatives from the UN and major contributors shall be invited to attend the meetings of the Joint commission as observers.

B. The Joint Commission shall comprise political leaders who should be
mandated to take decisions and to deal with matters brought before it by CFC. The Joint Commission (JC) shall be located initially in N'Djamena, moving to Khartoum at a time to be agreed upon by the parties.

2. Ceasefire Commission
The CFC shall report to a Joint Commission consisting of the Parties, the Chadian Mediation and the international community in accordance with the sovereignty of Sudan. II. COMPOSITION 1. The Ceasefire Commission (CFC) shall be composed as follows: a. Chairman, to be appointed by the AU, from an African Union Member State;

b. Deputy Chairman (European Union);
c. Chadian Mediation;
d. Government of Sudan
e. JEM
f. SLM/A
2. The size of the CFC may be adjusted with the agreement of the Parties as necessary to carry out the objectives of the Agreement.
3. Other International Representatives from the UN, the EU and USA shall be invited to participate as observers.

4. The operational arm of the Ceasefire Commission shall be the African Union Monitoring Mission, composed of Observers from the Parties, the Chadian mediation, African Union Member States and other representatives of the International Community.

5. To ensure command and control, all Observers shall be answerable to the Chief Military Observer (CMO) to be designated by the AU, who, in turn, shall be answerable to the CFC. Additionally, and in order to ensure unity and discipline of command, all Observers participating in the monitoring, investigation and verification execution of responsibilities.

6. The Military Observers (MILOBS) may be lightly armed. The AU Monitoring
Mission shall be deployed on the basis of the commitment of the Government of The Sudan, the JEM and the SLM/A to ensure the protection and the safety of the Observers. However, in the event that the Parties are unable to provide effective protection, the Chairmen of the Joint Commission (JC) and the Ceasefire Commission (CFC) shall request for the deployment of the protection element as envisaged in the decision of the AU Peace and Security Council of 25th May 2004. The Protection element shall be drawn from AU Member States and shall number between 100 and 300.

III. MANDATE
i. The mandate of the CFC shall consist of:

- Planning, verifying and ensuring the implementation of the rules and
provisions of the ceasefire;

- Defining the routes for the movement of forces in order to reduce the risks of incidents; the administrative movements shall be notified to the CFC;

- Requesting appropriate assistance with demining operations;

- Receiving, verifying, analyzing and judging complaints related to possible
violations of the ceasefire;

- Developing adequate measures to guard against such incidents in the future;

- Determining clearly the sites occupied by the combatants of the armed
opposition and verifying the neutralization of the armed militias.

ii. The CFC Headquarters shall be responsible for coordinating investigations, verifications, monitoring and reporting compliance in accordance with the Darfur Ceasefire Agreement and Implementation Modalities. The priority for the CFC is to investigate and report on violations of this Agreement

iii. The CFC Headquarters shall be located in El-Fisher (Darfur). Sectors sites shall be established at other locations, including, but not limited, to Nyala, El Geneina, Kabkabiyah, Tine, and Abeche. A liaison Office will be established in Khartoum.

Each Sector will be composed of two (2) Teams for verification and investigation comprising the Parties, the African Union, the Chadian Mediation and other members of the international community (see the deployment Plan). iv. The CFC support staff shall be part of the Headquarters and shall be organized as follows: -

Operations Team: Coordinates all activities of the CFC in Darfur. Maintains communications links with the Parties and the International community.

-Transportation/Logistics Team: Coordinates transportation, communications, supply and logistics requirements for the CFC.

- Information Team: Coordinates the dissemination of information to support and promote the Cease-fire Agreement among the people in Darfur, including information regarding activities of the CFC, freedom of movement, civic action, and others.

- Medical Support Team Provides necessary health and medical care and
advice to the CFC.
- Government of Sudan Team: Conducts liaison with the GoS.
- SLM Team: Conducts liaison with the SLM/A.
- JEM Team: Conducts liaison with the JEM.
IV. MODALITIES FOR MONITORING AND VERIFICATION

a. Under the orders of the Chairman, members of the CFC can be deployed
anywhere in Darfur to monitor and report on compliance with the provisions of the Cease-fire Agreement and when necessary investigate any alleged violations of the Agreement. When deployed, the CFC shall organize itself as a team. The team leader will be designated by the Chairman/Deputy Chairman.

b. The CFC will investigate all credible reports of violations of the Ceasefire
Agreement. The CFC may conduct its inspections and investigations by road or by air.

c. Each of the Parties and the international community shall provide two liaison officers per sector, to be available to participate in investigations at any time. The nonprovision of liaison personnel by the Parties to investigate shall be considered as a violation of the Agreement.

d. Following an investigation, the CFC shall endeavor to reach its decisions by consensus. In the event that any of the parties disagrees with the final decision of the CFC, that Party will seek redress from the Joint Commission (JC).

e. The CFC shall seek to advance the process through confidence building visits in the region. The CFC will maintain regular liaison with the parties as well as UN Agencies, the ICRC and NGOs. The CFC will also visit IDP sites and other areas.

f. The parties shall provide the Chairman of the CFC, or his designated Representative, immediately upon request, information required for the implementation of the Darfur Ceasefire Agreement on the understanding that the information shall be held confidential by the Chairman.

g. The Parties shall give the CFC and its personnel unrestricted freedom of
movement and access throughout Darfur. The Sector Commander shall inform all members of the Observer team of all their future movements. It will be the responsibility of Liaison Officers to inform their respective Commanders of such movements.

h. A Status of Mission Agreement (SOMA) will be signed with the Government of The Sudan. Addis Ababa, 28 May 2004 For the Sudan Liberation Movement/Army: Mini Arkou Minawi, Secretary General For the Government of Sudan: H.E. Osman Elsaïd, Ambassador of the Republic of the Sudan in Ethopia For the Justice and Equality Movement: Ahmed Mohamed Tugod Lissan For the Chadian Mediation: H.E. Maïtine Djoumbé, Ambassador of the Republic of Chad to Ethiopia For the African Union: H.E. Saïd Djinnit, Commissioner for Peace and Security
[A PLAN FOR THE ESTABLISHMENT OF A CEASEFIRE COMMISSION AND
THE DEPLOYMENT OF OBSERVERS IN DARFUR was also agreed]