GOVERNMENT
Comprehensive Peace Agreement
The 2005 CPA established a new Government of National Unity (GNU) and the interim Government of Southern Sudan (GOSS) and called for wealth-sharing, power-sharing, and security arrangements between the two parties. The historic agreement provides for a ceasefire, withdrawal of troops from southern Sudan, and the repatriation and resettlement of refugees. It also stipulates that by the end of the six-year interim period, during which the various provisions of the CPA are implemented, there will be elections at all levels, including for president, state governors, and national and state legislatures.
On July 9, 2005, the Presidency was inaugurated with al-Bashir sworn in as President and John Garang, SPLM leader, installed as First Vice President. Ratification of the Interim National Constitution followed. The Constitution declares Sudan to be a "democratic, decentralized, multi-cultural, multi-ethnic, multi-religious, and multi-lingual State."
On July 30, 2005, the charismatic and revered SPLM leader John Garang died in a helicopter crash. The SPLM immediately named Salva Kiir, Garang' s deputy, as First Vice President. As stipulated in the CPA, Kiir now holds the posts of President of the Government of Southern Sudan and Commander-in-Chief of the SPLA.
Implemented provisions of the CPA include the formation of the National Legislature, appointment of Cabinet members, establishment of the Government of Southern Sudan and the signing of the Southern Sudan Constitution, and the appointment of state governors and adoption of state constitutions.
A number of CPA-mandated commissions have also been created. Thus far, those
formed include the Assessment and Evaluation Commission, National Petroleum
Commission, Fiscal and Financial Allocation and Monitoring Commission, and the
North-South Border Commission. The Ceasefire Political Commission, Joint Defense
Board, and Ceasefire Joint Military Committee were also established as part of
the security arrangements of the CPA. Some commissions remain outstanding.
With the establishment of the National Population Census Council, a population census began in April 2008 in preparation for national elections in 2009. The CPA mandates that the Government of Southern Sudan hold a referendum at the end of a six-year interim period in 2011, allowing southerners to secede if they so wish. On January 9, 2007, commemoration of the second anniversary of the CPA was held in Juba. During the ceremony, President Bashir and First Vice President Kiir exchanged forceful accusations concerning the delays in the implementation of the agreement. In his remarks, Salva Kiir described the achievement of the CPA as the most important achievement in modern Sudanese history and confirmed that there would be no retreat from the path of peace. While some progress has been achieved during the last two years, meaningful implementation of key CPA requirements has faltered, and relations between the National Congress Party (NCP) and SPLM were at an all-time low at the end of 2007. In October 2007, a lack of progress on issues such as north-south border demarcation, certain security provisions, and north-south sharing of oil revenues threatened to erode the CPA as the SPLM threatened a permanent withdrawal from the Government of National Unity. International attention maintains focus on the CPA as the mainstay of peace in Sudan in response to calls for reinvigorated CPA implementation. Implementation of the CPA is moving forward slowly, but the return to peace in Southern Sudan has brought political, civil, and economic dividends.
Darfur
In 2003, while the historic north-south conflict was on its way to resolution,
increasing reports of attacks on civilians, especially aimed at non-Arab tribes,
began to surface. A rebellion broke out in Darfur, in the extremely marginalized
western Sudan, led by two rebel groups--the Sudan Liberation Movement/Army
(SLM/A) and the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM). These groups represented
agrarian farmers who are mostly non-Arabized black African Muslims. In seeking
to defeat the rebel movements, the Government of Sudan increased arms and
support to local tribal and other militias, which have come to be known as the
"Janjaweed." Their members were composed mostly of Arabized black African Muslims who herded cattle, camels, and other livestock. Attacks on the civilian population by the Janjaweed, often with the direct support of Government of Sudan forces, have led to the death of tens of thousands of persons in Darfur, with over 2 million internally displaced persons and close to 250,000 refugees in neighboring Chad.
On September 9, 2004, Secretary of State Colin L. Powell told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, "genocide has been committed in Darfur and that the Government of Sudan and the Janjaweed bear responsibility--and that genocide may still be occurring." President Bush echoed this in July 2005, when he stated that the situation in Darfur was "clearly genocide."
A cease-fire between the parties was signed in N’Djamena, Chad, on April 8, 2004. However, despite the deployment of an African Union Military Mission to monitor implementation of the cease-fire and investigate violations, violence has continued. The SLM/A and JEM negotiated with the Government of Sudan under African Union auspices, resulting in additional protocols addressing the humanitarian and security aspects of the conflict on November 9, 2004. Like previous agreements, however, these were violated by both sides. Talks resumed in Abuja on June 10, 2005, resulting in a July 6 signing of a Declaration of Principles. Further talks were held in the fall and early winter of 2005 and covered power sharing, wealth sharing, and security arrangements. These negotiations were complicated by a split in SLM/A leadership.
The African Union, with the support of the UNSC, the U.S., and the rest of the international community, began deploying a larger monitoring and observer force in October 2004. The UNSC had passed three resolutions (1556, 1564, and 1574), all intended to move the Government of Sudan to rein in the Janjaweed, protect the civilian population and humanitarian participants, seek avenues toward a political settlement to the humanitarian and political crisis, and recognize the need for the rapid deployment of an expanded African Union mission in Darfur. The U.S. has been a leader in pressing for strong international action by the United Nations and its agencies.
A series of UNSC resolutions in late March 2005 underscored the concerns of the international community regarding Sudan's continuing conflicts. Resolution 1590 established the UN Mission in Sudan (UNMIS) for an initial period of six months and decided that UNMIS would consist of up to 10,000 military personnel and up to 715 civilian police personnel. It requested UNMIS to coordinate with the African Union Mission in Sudan (AMIS) to foster peace in Darfur, support implementation of the CPA, facilitate the voluntary return of refugees and internally displaced persons, provide humanitarian demining assistance, and protect human rights. The resolution also called on the Government of Sudan and rebel groups to resume the Abuja talks and support a peaceful settlement to the conflict in Darfur, including ensuring safe access for peacekeeping and humanitarian operations.
Resolution 1591 criticized the Government of Sudan and rebels in Darfur for having failed to comply with several previous UNSC resolutions, for ceasefire violations, and for human rights abuses. The resolution also called on all parties to resume the Abuja talks and to support a peaceful settlement to the conflict in Darfur; it also forms a monitoring committee charged with enforcing a travel ban and asset freeze of those determined to impede the peace process, or violate human rights. Additionally, the resolution demanded that the Government of Sudan cease conducting offensive military flights in and over the Darfur region. Finally, Resolution 1593 referred the situation in Darfur to the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) and called on the Government of Sudan and all other parties to the conflict in Darfur to cooperate with the ICC.
On May 5, 2006, under strong pressure from the AU and the international community, the government and an SLM/A faction led by Minni Minawi signed the Darfur Peace Agreement (DPA) in Abuja. Unfortunately, the conflict in Darfur intensified shortly thereafter, led by rebel groups who refused to sign. In late August government forces began a major offensive on rebel areas in Northern Darfur. On August 30, the Security Council adopted UNSCR 1706, authorizing the transition of AMIS to a larger more robust UN peacekeeping operation. To further facilitate an end to the conflict in Darfur, President Bush announced the appointment of Andrew S. Natsios as the Special Envoy for Sudan on September 19, 2006.
In an effort to resolve Sudan's opposition to a UN force, UN Secretary General
Kofi Annan and African Union Commission Chair Alpha Oumar Konare convened a
meeting of key international officials and representatives of several African
and Arab states in Addis Ababa on November 16, 2006. The agreement reached with
the Government of Sudan provided for UN support to AMIS in three phases--light,
heavy, and a joint AU/UN hybrid support operation. On November 30, the African
Union Peace and Security Council also endorsed the Addis Ababa conclusions.
International efforts in 2007 focused on rallying support for DPA signatory and
non-signatory rebel movements for renewed peace talks, and on finalizing plans
for the joint AU/UN hybrid peacekeeping operation. The UN Security Council
adopted Resolution 1769 on July 31, 2007, providing a Chapter 7 mandate and
authorizing a peacekeeping force of up to 26,000 uniformed personnel to deploy
to Darfur. The UN African Mission in Darfur (UNAMID) transitioned smoothly from
AMIS on December 31, 2007. UNAMID is an unprecedented force--it is the first
hybrid force in UN history and once fully deployed, it will be the largest
peacekeeping force in UN history.
Following the passage of UNSCR 1769, a conference was held August 3-5 in Arusha,
Tanzania between key UN and AU officials and delegates from Darfur rebel groups.
Many movements' political and military leaderships were brought into the
discussion in preparation for earnest peace talks. Peace talks between the
Government of Sudan and rebel factions took place in Sirte, Libya on October 27,
2007; however, limited rebel participation and continuing disagreement about
objectives and processes limited the effectiveness of these talks. Following,
the Sirte talks, the SPLM hosted workshops in Juba, Southern Sudan to unite the
rebel groups and allow them to come together to present a common front during
negotiations. The Juba talks led to a combination of rebel factions from an
estimated 27 groups to 5 groups. The U.S. continues to support the efforts of
the UN and AU to host workshops for the rebel groups as a foundation for future
negotiations.
On December 21, 2007, President Bush announced the appointment of Ambassador Richard S. Williamson as Special Envoy for Sudan following Andrew S. Natsios' resignation.
Humanitarian Situation
In 2008, Sudan continues to cope with the countrywide effects of conflict, displacement, and insecurity. During more than 20 years of conflict between the Government of Sudan and the Sudan People's Liberation Movement/Army, violence, famine, and disease killed more than 2 million people, forced an estimated 600,000 people to seek refuge in neighboring countries, and displaced approximately 4 million others within Sudan, creating the world's largest population of internally displaced people. Since the 2005 signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA), which officially ended the North-South conflict, the UN estimates that nearly 2 million displaced people have returned to Southern Sudan and the Three Areas of Southern Kordofan, Blue Nile, and Abyei.
The conflict in the western region of Darfur entered its fifth year in 2008, despite a 2006 peace agreement between the Government of National Unity and one faction of the Sudan Liberation Army. Fighting among armed opposition group factions, the Sudanese Armed Forces, and militias continues, displacing hundreds of thousands of civilians. The complex emergency in Darfur affects approximately 4.2 million people, including more than 2.4 million internally displaced people.
The U.S. Government is the leading international donor to Sudan and has contributed more than $4 billion in humanitarian, development, peacekeeping, and reconstruction assistance for the people in Sudan and eastern Chad since fiscal year (FY) 2004, including more than $1 billion in FY 2007 alone. The U.S. Mission in Sudan has declared disasters due to the complex emergency on an annual basis since 1987. On October 16, 2007, U.S. Chargé d'Affaires Alberto M. Fernandez renewed the Sudan disaster declaration for FY 2008. The U.S. Government continues to lead the international effort to support implementation of the CPA, while providing for the humanitarian needs of conflict-affected populations throughout the country. U.S. Government humanitarian assistance to Sudan includes food aid, provision of health care, water, sanitation, and hygiene, as well as programs for nutrition, agriculture, protection, and economic recovery.
Principal
Government Officials
President, Prime Minister, and Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces--Lt. General Omar Hassan Ahmed al-Bashir
First Vice President--General Salva Kiir Mayardit
Vice President--Ali Osman Muhamad Taha
Foreign Minister--Deng Alor
Ambassador to the U.S.--vacant (John Ukec Lueth, Charge d'Affaires)
Ambassador to the UN--vacant (Abdalmahmood Abdalhaleem Mohamed)
Sudan
maintains an embassy
in the United States at 2210 Massachusetts Ave. NW, Washington,
DC 20008 (tel: (202) 338-8565; fax: (202) 667-2406).
Independence: January 1, 1956.
Type: Provisional Government, the Government of National Unity (GNU), established by the Comprehensive Peace Agreement signed in January 2005 that provides for power sharing pending national elections. National elections are to occur no later than July 2009.
Constitution: The Interim National Constitution was adopted on July 6, 2005. It was drafted by the National Constitutional Review Commission, as mandated by the January 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA). The Government of Southern Sudan (GOSS) also has an interim constitution adopted in December 2005; it was certified by the GNU Ministry of Justice to be in conformance with the Interim National Constitution and the Comprehensive Peace Agreement.
Branches: Executive--executive authority is held by the president, who also is the prime minister, head of state, head of government, and commander in chief of the armed forces. Effective July 9, 2005, the executive branch includes a first vice president and a vice president. As stipulated by the Comprehensive Peace Agreement, the first vice president position is held by a person selected by the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) who concurrently serves as President of the GOSS. Legislative--National Legislature. The National Assembly, the lower house, has 450 members with a power-sharing formula which allows the ruling National Congress Party 52% of seats, the SPLM 28%, and other Northern and Southern parties, 14% and 6% respectively. There is also an upper house, the Council of States, which is composed of two appointed representatives from each of the nation's 26 states, including two observers from Abyei. Judicial--High Court, Minister of Justice, Attorney General, civil and special tribunals.
Administrative subdivisions: Twenty-six states, each with a governor appointed by the president, along with a state cabinet and a state legislative assembly. The regional GOSS oversees 10 states.
Political parties: Currently there are several political parties in both the nation's north and south. All political parties were banned following the June 30, 1989, military coup. Political associations, which take the place of parties, were authorized in 2000. Some parties are in self-imposed exile.
Central government budget (2007 est.): $9.7 billion.
Defense (2004 est.): 40% of GNP.
