Sudan 1999 - today

Background to the conflict in Sudan

Sudan, the largest country in Africa, gained independence in 1956 but the first 17 years were marred by conflict. Thirteen successive governments failed to bring stability. A peace agreement signed in Addis Ababa in 1972 brought relative calm but a second civil war broke out in 1983, characterised by fighting between the Sudan's People Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A), based in the South, and the Government of Sudan, based in the North. Talks aimed at ending the conflict were held in Kenya, eventually resulting in a peace agreement in 2005 as the SPLM/A and the Sudanese Government formally agreed to end the civil war. The deal included provisions on power-sharing and more equitable distribution of economic resources, including oil; it also allowed an independence referendum in the south after a six-year period of autonomy.

Conflict also flared up in the western region of Darfur in 2003. As a result, more than three million people now rely on food aid or have fled their homes, and some 200,000 are estimated by the United Nations to have died because of the violence. There are two main rebel groups, the Sudan Liberation Army (SLA) and the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM), although the peace talks were complicated by splits in both groups. In May 2006, one faction of the SLA agreed a peace deal with the Government of Sudan, but the other rebel movements continue to demand more concessions before laying down their arms.

Although the war in Darfur has recently dominated the conflict in Sudan, it is by no means the only one. It is estimated that there are at least 61 civic, ethnic, religious and political conflicts in Sudan. Issues such as land, water, oil and religion all play roles in the individual conflicts though the weighting given to each issue varies from group to group. The war has taken a huge toll on the social fabric that makes up families and communities in Sudan. The economy has also suffered. Although rich in resources (oil and gold to name just two), Sudan is today one of the poorest countries in the world.

Concordis International in the Sudan

In 1999, at the request of a group of senior Sudanese, the Concordis International team (as RFI) started the Sudan peace-building programme in partnership with the African Renaissance Institute.

In May 1999, RFI was approached by several senior Sudanese individuals and a British non-governmental organisation working in Sudan. They were aware of RFI's earlier track-record in South Africa and felt that the time was ripe for a similar peace-building initiative in Sudan.  Following these approaches, the Relationships Foundation carried out an intensive consultation and research exercise to determine the feasibility and suitability of launching a peace-building programme in Sudan. The conclusions of the study were positive, and the new peace-building programme was officially started in early 2000.  Five consultations were held between January 2001 and July 2002, co-chaired by Professor Washington A J Okumu and Viscount Brentford. Subjects covered included:

• Self-determination
• Oil and Gas Industries in Sudan
• Religion and the State
• Alternative Constitutional Arrangements and their Implications for Sudanese Identities
• Alternative Transitional Arrangements and their Relevance to the Sudan
• Mineral Resources in the Sudan with Special reference to Gold Resources
• Military and Security Issues
• Internally Displaced People and Refugees in the Sudan

The consultations took place in parallel with the formal peace negotiations supported by the international community (the IGAD process).  These consultations were increasingly ‘owned’ by the Sudanese themselves and played a strategic role in an inclusive peace-building process.  Unlike IGAD, which only involved the two major players (the Government and the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement/Army), RFI involved all major Sudanese constituencies - ethnic, religious political and geographical.  Outcomes were fed into the IGAD process and helped to find constructive solutions to points of differences as well as providing a channel for parties otherwise excluded from the formal talks to make their views and concerns known.

By providing a forum where leaders can meet informally and discuss key issues, the programme has contributed to a greater willingness on all sides to lay down weapons, to finding constructive solutions to points of difference and thus to the success of the formal peace talks.  It also led to a more formal consultative process "The Inter-Sudanese Consultation on Peace and Justice" (ISCOP) with greater Sudanese ownership, facilitated by RFI, leading to six consultations that were held between January 2001 and July 2003.

Subsequently, Concordis International has responded to requests from senior Sudanese to remain engaged, by re-focusing on informal dialogue aimed at developing consensus on post-conflict priorities for Sudan and contributing on regional issues including Darfur and Eastern Sudan.  To date, Concordis has facilitated a further twelve regional and national Sudanese consultations on this basis. In addition to informal consultations, Concordis seeks other means of furthering the peace process in Sudan, including publications and capacity-building workshops, but always remains non-partisan in its approach.

The objectives of the programme are:

• To bring together in a series of regular consultations highly placed individuals, who are close to the key players of the main constituencies, to explore informally the basis for a peace settlement covering a wide range of key issues.
• To help build relationships between the Sudanese participants over time so as to aid their understanding of their respective positions, whilst empowering them to influence their respective constituencies.
• To carry out systematic research on key socio-economic and other topics so as to facilitate a fresh and constructive dialogue on contentious issues.
• To empower all stakeholders by equipping them with the negotiating skills in the areas of critical concern so as to facilitate a negotiated outcome in which all can participate, and in which the interests of presently marginalised regions can be safeguarded and taken fully into account in the final settlement.

Overall, the process has strengthened the formal Track 1 peace process and the implementation of the “Comprehensive Peace Agreement” of January 2005 by facilitating convergence of the positions of all political parties, the private sector and civil society - horizontally (across the lines of conflict) and vertically (within their own constituencies) - with a view to long- term transformation of relationships. To date, Concordis has facilitated a further eight national Sudanese consultations on this basis.

Sudan's Regional Conflicts

Concordis International has received numerous requests to engage with several of the regional conflicts in the Sudan.  Resource limitations have prevented involvement in all regions, but Concordis has invested considerable effort in the regions of Darfur and Eastern Sudan.

Although Concordis was in contact with a range of Darfurians for several years before the current crisis developed, the core of the engagement has been a series of low-key consultations for key individuals, starting in September 2004 with the subject of Land Use and Tenure.  Subsequent consultations have covered Devolved Government within the Post-Naivasha Sudanese Constitution and Enabling the Sustainable and Safe Return and Reintegration of the Displaced in Darfur.  The reports, and in particular the conclusions, of these first three consultations have been widely circulated to ensure that the voices of the broader range of Sudanese society are heard, and not just the views of those who have taken up arms.  The agreed conclusions of the three Darfur consultations were delivered under the Chairman’s signature to the parties and mediators in the formal negotiations at Abuja on the Darfur conflict.  It is fair to say that closer attention to the issues covered by these meetings might have led to a more comprehensive and generally acceptable peace agreement for Darfur.  The situation in Darfur has deteriorated rather than improved following the signing of the Darfur Peace Agreement in May 2006; Concordis remains engaged in work to develop sustainable peace for Darfur.

Following a consultation for an inclusive group of Eastern Sudanese in Nairobi in February 2005 on “Access to Resources and Opportunities in Eastern Sudan: Consolidating the Comprehensive Peace Agreement”, Concordis was asked to facilitate dialogue or informal negotiations between the Government of Sudan and the Eastern Front (an amalgamation of the Beja Congress and the Rashaida Free Lions).  Efforts to achieve this culminated in three weeks of workshops provided on a non-partisan basis by Concordis for the Eastern Front in Asmara in November 2005.  These workshops helped the Eastern Front to develop its unity and constructiveness for negotiations with the Government, which started in June 2006.