The objective of this panel is to discuss the implications of Sudan ongoing peace process in an African context. The fundamental question to be asked is: can Sudan’s recent experience in peace negotiations and protocol agreements, in trying to end the civil war in the south, be a model for other African states with similar problems?
Sudan has experienced two civil wars: the first from 1954 until 1972 and the second from 1983 until the present time. Their causes pertain to the ethnic, cultural and religious conflict between its northern Arab/Muslim and its southern African/non-Muslim population. These wars have cost the country a great deal in material and human resources. A number of attempts were made to end the conflict but only one was successful for a short period (1972-1983) when southern Sudan achieved regional autonomy. Successive central governments did not address the rights of southerners for self-determination and to chose between a separate state or remain in a united Sudan. The southerners have felt aggrieved that the northerners have not treated the southerners on equal terms and that the south has remained underdeveloped since Independence in 1956.
Recent peace negotiations which have been conducted, under the auspices of the Inter-Governmental Authority for Development (IGAD), in Kenya since 2002 between the Sudan People's Liberation Army/Movement (SPLA/M) and the Government of Sudan to end the second civil war in the south have resulted in the signing of six protocols regarding major issues such as cease-fire, sharing power and resources and the administration of disputed areas. A final peace agreement is still pending. Political activists from the north and south have expressed their legitimate dissatisfaction with their exclusion from the peace negotiations. Unless there is political inclusiveness, the implementation of any peace agreement will be in doubt.
The panelists and discussants will deal with the nature and causes of the civil wars and will make an assessment of the recently signed protocols. They will also explore the possibility of whether there are lessons to be learnt by other African countries from Sudan's recent peace negotiations and from the provisions made for a future shared state.
The signing of a Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) ending twenty-one years of war in the southern Sudan has coincided with the escalation of fighting in Darfur. The conventional wisdom of diplomats and journalists has been that the two wars are unrelated, and any attempt to connect the peace process in both places would have jeopardised the final agreement between the government and the SPLM. It has become increasingly clear, however, that the war in Darfur is related to the longer civil war in the South, and that the current fighting there is jeopardising peace in the South. This paper will investigate the connections between the two wars and prospects for the implementation of the CPA.
The outcome of peace talks in civil wars depends on many factors, from the readiness of the warring parties to negotiate in good faith, to the capabilities and actions of the mediators and the structure of the talks. But one factor of primary importance is the question of who is included in the talks and who is not.
This paper will look at the case of peace talks in Sudan, and will consider who the potential peace-makers and spoilers were, what the implications were of the decisions made about participation, and what options were available to the mediators. It will also ask what, if any, the lessons are for conflicts in Africa or elsewhere, and conversely what lessons there are for Sudan.
This paper focuses on the provisions about the oil industry in the Wealth Sharing Agreement. These address not only revenue sharing, but also the allocation and management of concessions. The paper will evaluate the prospects of these arrangements successfully addressing the challenges that oil wealth presents to sustained peace and economic development. It will also look briefly at the possible implications of Sudan’s wealth sharing arrangements for other fissured states in Africa with oil wealth.