Entebbe Accord.. Conflicts of Interest and Overlapping Agendas – The Face of Truth – ✍️ Ibrahim Shaqlawi
Before we get to the topic of the article, let us clarify what the Entebbe Agreement is. It is a framework agreement for cooperation with the Nile Basin countries that was drafted and approved by a number of African countries representing the beneficiaries of the Nile waters. In May 2010, Uganda and Tanzania signed it on similar dates. Rwanda, Kenya, Ethiopia and Burundi later joined, but Sudan, Egypt and South Sudan did not sign it at that time. For the agreement to meet the legal requirements that allow it to be submitted for approval to the relevant international organizations, it must be signed by one-third of the members representing the Basin countries, and this was not available for the agreement at that time.
Sudan and Egypt opposed the deal for objective reasons, the most important being that the deal includes a clause granting upstream countries the right to implement water projects without recourse or agreement with downstream countries. This contradicts international and regional laws governing these rights. benefit from waterways and rivers shared between the countries.
The agreement also contradicts historical rights to the Nile waters that were approved in a number of binding agreements between 1902, 1929 and 1959, which stipulated not to harm downstream countries and which also approved known percentages for Sudan at 18.5 and for Egypt at 55.5 billion cubic meters.
Despite this, in a move described as surprising and which could be hidden behind a political agenda, the State of South Sudan ratified earlier this month, in June 2024, the (Nile Basin Cooperation Framework Agreement)… (Entebbe). .. thus granting a quorum to the countries that signed the agreement to advance it to regional and international organizations Approvals… as the agreement allows for the reduction of the shares of Sudan and Egypt in the waters of the Nile… and approves the establishment of the Nile Basin Commission to redistribute water, manage it and supervise its use.
This issue opens the door wide for Sudan and Egypt to reassess and study their position on the agreement. In light of the current challenges that Sudan is experiencing related to the war and related to the importance of having an elected government system (Legislative Council), it is possible to reread it in light of the country's future water interests, with some consideration in neighborly relations, in addition to the inclusion of international water law in this regard, as well as international water law. It is important to study the agreement in light of the developments imposed by the Renaissance Dam, which has not yet reached a common vision for its management between the three countries.
On the other hand, a number of experts in the field of water resources and development believe that Sudan must be prepared to anticipate any possible developments in order for the Entebbe Agreement to become a reality, especially after South Sudan has reached the required quorum of signatories. countries to push it for approval by international and regional organizations. Therefore, Sudan must now push to adopt the principle of acquired historical rights, prior notification and not harming others… in addition to immediately starting to prepare the necessary data and information by the relevant authorities, and here I mean the Sudanese Ministry of Irrigation and Water Resources… which is in charge of water affairs in the country. It must start preparing plans and studies for current and future treatment. the issue… and we hasten to clarify Sudan's position on the step taken by the State of South Sudan in signing the Entebbe Agreement… because we have not yet observed any official position from the Sudanese government, whether negative or positive, on the issue. The agreement is considered a shameful negligence. It may be difficult for the Sudanese negotiator to impose Sudan's vision for the future.
Despite this, in my view, the prevailing view that raises the issue of the Entebbe Agreement and South Sudan signing it at this time is not without blackmailing Sudan and Egypt… and could put South Sudan in a difficult position… which will reflect its turbulent internal security situation… water security must be preceded by agreements with neighbouring countries. This is in light of the failure of the joint committees for the Renaissance Dam to reach a binding agreement for the Ethiopian side in the framework of the project. It is therefore likely that this difference in positions has encouraged the State of South Sudan, at the request of other countries, to push the Entebbe issue onto the agenda so that the matter becomes part of a set of controversial issues related to water management in the Nile Basin. This suggests the presence of a hidden political agenda that has pushed the South Sudanese state to change its position 14 years after the emergence of the agreement. It is worth noting that the conflict of interests over the Nile waters is a problem. An old and renewed conflict will not be limited to the upstream and downstream countries, but rather could develop with the entry of other regional and international parties whose ambitions for fresh water have remained renewed. These ambitions have continued to take different forms and manifestations each time. there is beginning to be weakness in Sudan or Egypt.
Therefore, the maximization of strategic interests must continue to exist between Sudan and Egypt in order to preserve the historical gains in the Nile Basin waters… Positions must also be unified in regional and international forums… so that the two countries enjoy the necessary calm for the sake of the interests of the two peoples… away from the atmosphere of conflicts and international ambitions… also. It should be noted that the Entebbe Agreement represents a manifestation of the conflict of influence and interests and the overlapping of political, economic and social agendas in the region, which has become plagued by conflicts.
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