A team of African Experts (TAE) led by former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo, who is chief mediator of the recent peace deal reached between Ethiopian belligerents in Pretoria, South Africa Thursday arrived in Mekelle, capital of Ethiopia’s Tigray region.
Uhuru Kenyatta, a member of the AU panel that facilitated the Pretoria peace agreement and the Nairobi senior commanders’ agreement as well as 32 ambassadors drawn from Africa and Europe also arrived in Mekelle to assess implementation of the peace deal signed between the government of Ethiopia and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF)
The TAE is granted full access to monitor and verify the disarmament process of TPLF forces. After two days of talks in Nairobi on December 22 and 23, 2022, top leaders from the Ethiopian government and the TPLF agreed on the Terms of Reference (ToR).
The meeting finalized the Term of Reference (ToR) of the Joint Monitoring, Verification, and Compliance Mechanism (JMVCM).
It also discussed the implementation of what is called the Disarmament, Demobilization, and Reintegration (DDR) process.
The parties agreed on this to give the monitoring and verification team of the AU full access, a 360-degree viewpoint, to ensure all the elements of the agreements are actually going to be implemented,” Uhuru Kenyatta, the former president of Kenya was quoted as saying.
A joint committee is formed, presided over by the AU High Panel, with one representative from each party, IGAD.
The joint committee controls TPLF’s weapons which are stored in locations designated by ENDF.
The committee also makes sure TPLF disarmament is complete, and no acquisition, resupply, or transfer of ammunition and weapons, or unauthorized movement of military equipment, is done by TPLF combatants, nor is the use of mines or explosives, nor do they provide assistance to proxies of other armed entities.
The team of experts, on the other hand, undertakes reconnaissance to ensure respect for the disarmament engagement.
The TAE is made up of 10 African military experts who help the joint committee do its job.
The TAE reports everything to the joint committee.
MG/as/APA