UN preparing for peace accord

The UN is preparing for the implementation of a peace agreement between the government of Sudan and the Sudan People's Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A), UN Special Envoy for Sudan, Tom Vraalsen told IRIN in Nairobi. Once the parties had agreed on security arrangements, and officially requested the UN to take part in a peacekeeping mission, the Department of Peace Keeping Operations (DPKO) would draw on its expertise to detail the arrangements, Vraalsen said. "They are in the process of planning," he said, adding that the DPKO was "more less on standby", but it was too early to tell the possible size, makeup and deployment details of such a force. He said both the government and the SPLM/A had emphasised to him that a peace keeping force was a top priority once a comprehensive peace deal had been signed. The second priority was that Sudan should immediately be in a position to receive the tens of thousands of refugees in surrounding countries and between three and four million internally displaced within the country who wished to return to their homes, he noted. Vraalsen has just completed a two-week tour of Darfur, Southern Blue Nile, Unity State, and Khartoum in Sudan, as well as three Kenyan locations: Nairobi, the capital, Lokichokio - the launching pad for most humanitarian assistance to Sudan - and Naivasha, where peace talks have been taking place for over two weeks between SPLA leader John Garang and Sudanese Vice-President Ali Osman Taha. Both sides at the Naivasha talks have agreed to renew a ceasefire agreement for two months, due to expire at the end of September. Vraalsen said he was increasingly optimistic that a peace agreement would be signed "before too long", and he emphasised that the much-needed donor support for Sudan was dependent on both sides respecting that agreement. "It is very important in order to encourage the donor community, that the parties are seen to be positive, actively, proactively implementing agreements which they have entered into," he said. "They have to display a spirit of cooperation and a wish to see these agreements put into practice." He added that Sudan would be expected to use its own resources to rebuild the war-torn country. "The country has its own resources which it will have to use. It will also be important in the donor context that they [the Sudanese] are seen to use their own resources in a positive way and for productive purposes." While there was considerable donor interest in Sudan at the moment, if an agreement was not respected a price would have to be paid, he added. It would have a direct impact on donor support as well as the international recognition that both sides were seeking. "This is too important and too much has been invested in it," he said. Monitoring mechanisms would also be built into any final peace agreement and the international community would keep a "very close watch" on whether it was being respected, said Vraalsen. He hoped that a UN resolution would be passed that would recognise a final agreement and act as a guarantor for its implementation. The UN would encourage as many donors as possible to donate to Sudan, but it was impossible to tell how long that interest would last, he added. "It is a priority at least now but for how long it will be a priority, that remains to be seen."