On June 27, the Brookings-Bern Project on Internal Displacement held a panel discussion the terms and progress of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement signed in 2005, which was meant to end the Second Sudanese Civil War. While many barriers still exist in its full implementation, including the recent violence in Abeyi and the local disputes over Sudan’s oil reserves, the panelists brought some interesting perspectives from their broad backgrounds.  

Two representatives from the Sudanese government were in attendance, including Dr. Mudawi Al Turabi, Parliament member on the Foreign Relations Committee, and Dr. Lam Akol, Former Minister of Foreign Affairs, SPLM National Liberation Council. Some of the insights provided by both representatives were surrounding the difficulties of implementing a peace agreement in an emerging democracy. Dr. Turabi noted that there are fourteen different parties in the Sudanese Parliament, and that power sharing is the objective of creating sustainable peace. In mentioning Darfur, Turabi said that all development has stopped, there has been relatively no investment due to the non-implementation of the CPA and conflicts in the Darfur region. Negotiations are difficult, he described, when you have so many warring factions. The main theme of the remarks regarding Darfur was that it has a ripple effect on development, aid, and political implementation of the CPA.  

Dr. Ajawin contributed to the dialogue on contextualizing the peace agreement, noting it took eleven years to negotiate from 1993-2004. He highlighted that the peace agreement is addressing a complicated problem, and that the people of Sudan need encouragement that unity is their best solution to a complex power struggle. The CPA is not open-ended, and has timelines for the political parties to have a referrendum on the Souths independence. However, Ajawin made it clear that the people of southern Sudan need assistance to have faith through the political process to achieve fair elections, effective democracy, and sustainable development. His final note was that the Interim period in the Sudan “must lead to self-determination.” 

Also in attendance were Lynn Fredriksson, Africa advocacy director for Amnesty International USA, and Pamela Fierst, a member of the Sudan policy group at the State Department. Pamela Fierst’s comments were initially positive, noting that while the CPA is slow-moving, “it is the most significant achievement in 25 years.” She noted that the electoral process must include all of Sudan, including the Darfur region, and that preparations for 2009 have not been fast enough. Fierst was firm that UN peacekeeping forces must be deployed now, without obstruction, and that future elections “must include Darfur or their voices will continue to be silenced.”  

On a more critical note, Lynn Fredricksson from Amnesty International outlined 8 critical but brief concerns involving the CPA:

- Human rights abuses in Darfur

- Censorship. The lack of freedom of expression/organization

- Lack of oversight of Police Forces. Arrests and detentions of persons without due process, some believed based on ethnicity.

- The ongoing refugee crisis, and the lack of ability of refugees to return to their homes. This concern included a lack of assured sustainability, schools, job training, health services, and the ongoing threat to women.

- American Service-Members Protection Act as an unrecognized agreement.

- Political and economic fragmentation in Darfur, and in South & Eastern regions of Sudan.

- Lack of transparency in oil revenues and wealth/power sharing. Demarcation of borders and the killing and displacement of 50,000 in the last month. Discussion of recent violence in Abeyi.

- Questions surrounding the International Communities role in implementing the CPA and in Darfur? What’s the role of assistance, should it require further peace progress and UN troop deployment? 

The overall tone during the question and answer portion was largely that of frustration, with many members of the audience originating from war-torn regions. Numerous coalitions and members of the press urged the Sudanese government representatives to address human rights abuses in Darfur, while others from Abeyi were alarmed by the lack of implementation of the June 8^th Roadmap Agreement. From an outsider’s perspective, it appeared that even within groups discussing peace, accusations and blame weren’t removed from the sentiments expressed.  

While the government officials did admit that the Darfur region is “complicated,” they concluded that “without political peace agreements they will not have peace to keep” on the ground. Struggling to explain its complex reality, the officials were concerned about the level of aid resources specifically channeled to Darfur over other regions of the Sudan. Not unlike the oil revenues already contested, it appeared international funding and developmental aid was not exempt from political battles over resources. They believed this struggle was responsible for slow development in southern Sudan, and giving little hope to the people that the Peace Agreement was working in their best interest. What effect this will have on the projected 2009 elections, no one would say for sure. However, Dr. Turabi did pledge that the government is determined to have free and fair elections, and “would welcome international monitoring” to ensure this were so.