Eastern Sudan: Challenges facing the implementation of the peace agreement in Gedaref State

This briefing examines the challenges facing the implementation of the East Sudan Peace Agreement (ESPA), signed in October 2006 between the government of Sudan and the Eastern Front. While the agreement ended ten years of hostilities, the authors highlight significant obstacles, particularly regarding the representation of diverse ethnic groups and the specific political and administrative complexities of re-including Gedaref State within the Eastern Sudan region.

• The East Sudan Peace Agreement (ESPA), signed in October 2006 in Eritrea, ended ten years of conflict but faces internal and external challenges, including a lack of clear implementation modalities and issues regarding the demographic composition of the region.
• The ESPA established several power-sharing and financial mechanisms, including the Eastern Sudan Reconstruction and Development Fund (ESRDF). The national government committed US$ 100 million in seed money for 2007 and at least US$ 125 million annually from 2008 to 2011.
• A primary challenge to the ESPA is the perceived lack of representivity. The Eastern Front primarily represents the Hadendowa and Rashaida, leaving out other major groups such as the Beni Amir (though Amna Dirar was later appointed as a federal state minister in September 2007) and various groups in Gedaref State.
• The inclusion of Gedaref State in the ESPA is contentious because the Eastern Front is numerically marginal in the state. Major groups in Gedaref, such as the Shukriya and Lahawiyeen, are not part of the Eastern Front, leading to concerns that the agreement grants excessive power to a small minority of the state's population.
• Fieldwork conducted in April 2007 in Gedaref town showed that while 71.7% of respondents were satisfied that the ESPA ended the conflict, 61.7% believed the negotiation process was not inclusive.
• The agreement has caused political tension within Gedaref State, specifically between the legislative and administrative branches. Some leaders of the National Congress Party opposed the ESPA, including the Speaker of the State Assembly who resigned twice in protest.
• External threats to the ESPA's stability include the volatile political situation in Somalia, the unpredictable relationship between Sudan and Eritrea, and a lack of international donor enthusiasm due to the ongoing crisis in Darfur.

APA

Assal, M. A. M., & Ali, S. A. M. (2007). Eastern Sudan: Challenges facing the implementation of the peace agreement in Gedaref State. Institute for Security Studies. https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/EASTERN SUDAN SITREP FINAL5.PDF

Chicago

Assal, Munzoul A. M., and Samia A. M. Ali. Eastern Sudan: Challenges facing the implementation of the peace agreement in Gedaref State. Institute for Security Studies, 2007. https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/EASTERN SUDAN SITREP FINAL5.PDF.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Assal |first1=Munzoul A. M. |last2=Ali |first2=Samia A. M. |title=Eastern Sudan: Challenges facing the implementation of the peace agreement in Gedaref State |publisher=Institute for Security Studies |date=20 November 2007 |url=https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/EASTERN SUDAN SITREP FINAL5.PDF |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{assal2007eastern, author = {Assal, Munzoul A. M. and Ali, Samia A. M.}, title = {{Eastern Sudan: Challenges facing the implementation of the peace agreement in Gedaref State}}, institution = {Institute for Security Studies}, year = {2007}, month = nov, url = {https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/EASTERN SUDAN SITREP FINAL5.PDF}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }