Saudi Arabia brokers ceasefire agreement in Sudan with US support for humanitarian aid

The Saudi Foreign Ministry said in a post on its official Twitter account: “The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the United States of America announce the signing of an agreement for a short-term ceasefire for a period of 7 days, and humanitarian arrangements between representatives of the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces in the city of Jeddah.”
The agreement included the following items, according to the Saudi Press Agency, SPA:

• The two parties agree that the objective of this agreement is to achieve a short-term ceasefire in order to facilitate the delivery of emergency humanitarian aid and the restoration of basic services.
• Under this agreement, the two parties include the Jeddah Declaration (Commitment to Protect Civilians in Sudan) as a reference, and reaffirm all the commitments contained therein, including the obligation to evacuate, to refrain from acquisition, to respect and protect all public facilities such as medical facilities, hospitals, and water and electricity installations, and to refrain from using them for military purposes.
• This Agreement shall enter into force as soon as the Parties sign it.
• The short-term ceasefire period shall commence forty-eight (48) hours after the signing of this Agreement and its entry into force.
• The parties may agree to renew or update this Agreement for additional periods.
• The two parties shall agree to a short-term cease-fire where they are located, upon the entry into force of the short-term cease-fire.
• The Parties agree to establish a committee to monitor and coordinate the short-term ceasefire and humanitarian aid (the Monitoring and Coordination Committee) to monitor adherence to the short-term ceasefire and adherence to this Agreement.
• The Parties agree to a short-term cease-fire, which is set forth in this Agreement, to take effect forty-eight (48) hours after the entry into force of this Agreement. The two parties undertake to use the time between the entry into force of this agreement and the start of the short-term ceasefire period by working on the following:

Inform their forces of the terms of this agreement.

Direct their forces to comply with the short-term ceasefire.

– The calculation of the short-term ceasefire period begins after forty-eight (48) hours after the signing of this agreement and its entry into force, and it remains in effect thereafter for a period of seven (7) days.

A short-term ceasefire will be implemented throughout Sudan.

During the period of the short-term ceasefire, the parties shall guarantee the freedom of movement of civilians throughout the country and protect them from violence, harassment, recruitment, or other abuses.

The Parties shall ensure that all forces under their control cease and desist from the following prohibited acts, which are in violation of this Agreement:

All violations and breaches of international human rights law and violations of international humanitarian law.

Attacks and hostilities, including sniper attacks.

Air attacks and the use of military aircraft, drones or any heavy weapons.

– Shooting at any civilian aircraft or humanitarian aid carrier.

– Torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, including sexual and discriminatory violence in all its forms.

Targeting civilian infrastructure or population centers.

Obtaining or strengthening defenses, resupplying, or distributing weapons or military supplies, including from foreign sources.

Attempts to occupy or occupy new territory or locations, including civilian infrastructure or population centres.

Movement of forces, weapons, or resources, except as provided in the permitted actions in this Agreement.

Recruitment, registration or mobilization of soldiers.

Harassment, attacks, hostage-taking or unlawful detentions of civilians, including humanitarian workers.

Looting or confiscation of property, resources or humanitarian supplies.

Restricting or obstructing the movement of civilians, including humanitarian workers and humanitarian aid items.

Threats to use force or incitement to violence.

Impeding any monitoring or verification of the short-term ceasefire.

– Spying by air, land or sea.

Using civilians as human shields.

Occupation of hospitals and basic infrastructure facilities, including water, electricity and fuel facilities.

Occupying civilian homes.

The use of medical transports, such as ambulances, for military purposes.

Enforced disappearance or arbitrary detention of persons.

Looting, robbery and vandalism.

– Using propaganda or incitement against any of the parties or the use of any tribal or ethnic groups.

Using official communication channels to spread disturbing, false or erroneous information about the short-term ceasefire.

Withholding information about persons deprived of their liberty or access to them by humanitarian organizations.

With regard to humanitarian arrangements:

• The two parties adhere to the commitments and principles of the Jeddah Declaration in all their actions, which is an integral part of this agreement, recognizing that the two parties have existing obligations to respect international humanitarian law and international human rights law, and the provisions contained in this agreement seek to strengthen and supplement them.
• The parties shall, in accordance with the Jeddah Declaration, create conditions conducive to the provision of emergency relief and provide security guarantees for safe and unimpeded access by humanitarian agencies.
• The two parties shall work to secure and provide free passage and unimpeded access to roads along the corridors or paths designated for the delivery of humanitarian assistance.
• The parties commit to ensuring continued free, urgent and unimpeded humanitarian access, including access to relevant facilities to repair infrastructure and basic civil services, and not to impede the flow of humanitarian assistance from within Sudan or across borders to the affected population.
• Both parties are committed to ensuring the safety and protection of humanitarian workers, their equipment and property.
• The two parties undertake to protect and secure humanitarian aid from looting, theft, corruption and vandalism.
• The Parties shall take comprehensive measures to ensure the movement and protection of humanitarian aid convoys, including ensuring their safety without interference with the work of humanitarian actors.
• Both sides will abide by the principles and spirit of international humanitarian law when implementing the short-term ceasefire.
• The Parties shall provide the International Committee of the Red Cross with relevant information on all detainees and prisoners of war who have been arrested or detained as a result of the conflict and to enable it to carry out its work.