International Crisis Group

A major breach of the agreement signed in Addis Ababa and Juba in August to end South Sudan’s now two-year old civil war is increasingly likely. While low-level conflict is continuing in Unity state, conflict is now escalating in the Equatorias and Western Bahr el Ghazal. Many of the disparate members of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement/Army-In Opposition (SPLM/A-IO) reject the agreement, while the government shies from implementing a deal it believes is to its detriment. The heads of state of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD, the regional body that mediated the agreement), former Botswanan President Festus Moghae, head of the agreement’s Joint Monitoring and Evaluation Commission (JMEC), and key states that partnered with IGAD, including China, Norway, the U.S. and the UK, must take urgent, united action to put the peace process back on track or South Sudan will enter the new year at war again.

FULL STATEMENT (Via Crisis Group)

Photo:  AFP/Samir Bol

Source: Crisis Group

Representatives of Libya’s rival parliaments gathered in the Moroccan resort town of Skhirat on Thursday 17 December to sign a UN-brokered agreement that supporters believe is one important step towards ending the civil war that has raged for more than a year. A number of Libyan politicians and local officials attending the ceremony cheered and celebrated the event as a possible new beginning. Meanwhile, fighting in Tripoli and a number of other Libyan cities continued.

FULL BLOG POST (Via Crisis Group)

Photo: REUTERS/Esam Omran Al-Fetori

Source: Crisis Group

Thursday’s signing of the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement by the government of Myanmar and representatives of eight armed groups is a remarkable achievement, despite outstanding concerns. This is a major step forward at a crucial political moment for Myanmar, coming just weeks before the landmark general election scheduled for 8 November. The deal locks in the progress achieved so far toward ending six decades of civil war.

As Crisis Group has reported, the ceasefire agreement is far from perfect. Military issues such as force separation, demarcation and verification are vague, not included, or require further agreement to come into force. The deal nevertheless paves the way for a more comprehensive political settlement after the election.

FULL BLOG POST (Via Crisis Group)

Photo:  Myanmar Peace Centre

Source: Crisis Group

The agreement on transitional justice reached by the government of Colombia and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), and publicly announced yesterday in Havana is a major breakthrough in the four-year peace talks. In effect, it anticipates the termination of the 51-year armed conflict. In an unprecedented personal meeting, President Juan Manual Santos and FARC’s maximum leader, Rodrigo Londoño Echeverry (“Timochenko”), agreed that a final peace agreement would be signed within six months.

FULL STATEMENT (Via Crisis Group)

Versión en español

Photo:  REUTERS/Alexandre Meneghini

Iran : Deal or No Deal | Ali Vaez

Negotiations by nature never produce perfect outcomes. The compromise announced by Iran and the P5+1/E3+3 is by no means perfect, but it is the best path for returning Iran to the concert of nations and ensuring that its nuclear program will remain peaceful. An effective agreement should not be compared to an ideal, one that is unattainable. It should be compared to its alternatives: a return to an escalating cycle of more sanctions and more centrifuges, an Iranian bomb or bombing Iran. Here are ten reasons why this deal is much better than no deal:

VIEW SLIDER (via In Pursuit of Peace)

Photo: Crisis Group 

Source: In Pursuit of Peace