Sudan Pushes Forward with Peace Agreement

December 31, 2004

On Dec. 31, 2004, two final peace protocols were signed ending Africa’s longest running civil war. The Government of Sudan and the southern rebel group, the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM), are expected to sign the formal Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) in Nairobi, Kenya, on Jan. 9. This agreement will bring to a close more than two years of negotiations. At that time, Sudan will enter a six-and-a-half-year interim period, after which southerners will be allowed a referendum on whether to remain one country or secede.

The first six months of this period will be crucial for the Sudanese as they begin to develop a viable semi-autonomous Government of Southern Sudan (GOSS) and integrate political representatives from the north and south into a responsible and accountable Government of National Unity (GONU). The six-year interim period is designed to allow the Southern Sudanese opposition parties to establish their own government in Southern Sudan, as well as to integrate themselves fully into the national government, located in Khartoum.

IRI has been working in Sudan since September 2003 in preparation for the long-awaited peace agreement. Program activities have focused on political party development for the northern and southern opposition groups. With peace now realized, IRI will continue its party development work, but will also begin a second component of its program, providing parliamentary training to opposition representatives joining the national government, and assisting southerners in the establishment of a legislature for the new Southern government. This February, IRI will work with the Northern Democratic Alliance (NDA), an umbrella organization of opposition groups, to strengthen its coalition. Additionally, IRI will host a leadership retreat for opposition leaders from the south, who will then use the training to make key decisions on how to shape their new government. IRI will also work with the southern Sudanese on the institutional design for their new legislative assembly. IRI hopes to open its field office in southern Sudan by summer of this year.

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