Sudan Project
Overview
The Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) that ended Sudan's generation-long North-South civil war in 2005 is at risk. Citizens remain polarized along political and tribal lines and arms are abundant. Resource shortages and human displacement contribute to conflict throughout the region. The Governments of Sudan and (semi-autonomous) South Sudan continue to maneuver for partisan advantage as a 2011 referendum on southern independence approaches.
Time is short, and more is at stake than the prevention of local conflict. The success or failure of peacebuilding in these critical states will have implications not only for the viability of Sudan's entire peace process, but for stability across the volatile Great Lakes region. Two Sudanese organizations, the Institute for the Promotion of Civil Society (IPCS) and the Sudanese Organization for Nonviolence and Development (SONAD), have invited Nonviolent Peaceforce to provide operational expertise in preventing violence before and during the forthcoming elections and referendum.
In South Sudan, NP and its partners will collaborate to build Sudanese-led violence prevention teams. These teams will act as adjuncts to traditional dispute settlement and peacebuilding activities in districts where the risk of election-related violence is especially high.
In addition to providing a proactive presence and protective accompaniment for vulnerable civilians, trained civilian peacekeepers will work with local groups to foster dialogue among parties in conflict. NP and its Sudanese partners will equip civil society leaders with tested tools to strengthen their communities' confidence and capacity to reduce and prevent violence. They will seek cooperation and coordination with traditional and community leaders, as well as with elected officials, civil servants, and military personnel. Working especially with women, youth, and traditional leaders, the project will employ a blend of well-tested methods and novel nonviolent practice.
Standing left to right - Moi Kenyi Moses - Admin and Liaison Officer NPSD, Rocky G.P. Ambagu - Local Civilian Peacekeeper Mundri Team, Zabib Ariye - LCP Mundri, Nyiriwa Golver - LCP Mundri, Bakata Henry - IPCS, Jimmy Okumu - Team Leader Mundri (Uganda), James Pio - Driver Mundri. Seated left to right -
Chelsea Moore - ICP (Canada), Joyce Ngomo - ICP (Zimbabwian), Hannah Ayati - LCP, John Boul Yorama - LCP, Richeal Samia - LCP, Juma Eliobos Solomon - Admin Assistant Mundri, Bernard O' Sullivan - Acting Country Director (Ireland)
Strategy
1. Civil society capacity development
- Completion of baseline survey in target areas to identify stakeholders and understand and adapt to the local context
- Delivery of trainings for local authorities and civilian constituencies to develop conflict mitigation teams
- Hosting of community peace and development forums to provide space for addressing community conflicts
- Coordination of planning with government authorities, military officials, and formal and informal community leaders
- Coordination of the work of conflict mitigation teams by management staff at election "hotspots"
2. Early response and protective action
- Completion of strategic conflict analysis and stakeholder assessment to ensure maximum public participation
- Provision of proactive emergency response and protective accompaniment to persons / groups facing direct threats
- Deployment of protective accompaniment to enable vulnerable returnees to resettle in their communities
- Implementation of electoral monitoring strategy and provision of deterrent presence for sites at high risk of violence
- Establishment and maintenance of relationships with formal and informal security actors at target sites
- Facilitation of innovative community safety and security mechanisms
- Referral of threatened individuals and groups to relevant protection actors (UNICEF, UNHCR, ICRC, etc.)
3. Dialogue for strategic violence prevention
- Provision of support to civil society leaders in organizing dialogues at each target site for the promotion of strategic violence prevention, including problem-solving, social cohesion, peacebuilding, and reconciliation
- Establishment and strengthening of networks and partnerships of local organizations and community leaders
- Creation of dialogue and joint action opportunities for specific constituencies, such as women, youth, and faith leaders
- Development of peace-promoting linkages among communities and local authorities in target areas
4. Advocacy and learning
- Monitoring, documentation and dissemination of evidence supporting the value of unarmed civilian peacekeeping
- Development of a systematic and transparent reporting system, including local dissemination of proven practices
- Promotion of enhanced linkages between local conflict prevention initiatives and national and international processes
- Appraisal of potential for replication or scaling-up of interventions elsewhere in Sudan
Field News
Field reports offer details and descriptions of the work of the Nonviolent Peaceforce teams. Reports are produced monthly by the Country Directors and other staff on location with in a field project.
July 2010 Sudan Report
With less than 6 months to go until the historical referendum on independence for South Sudan, tensions remain high throughout the region. Politicians in both the North and the South are reasserting their views regarding the proposed secession with increasing fervour, adding to the pressure on both sides to achieve their desired outcome. Read more »
June 2010 Sudan Report
NP Peacekeeping Team Arrives in Southern Sudan. NP's team of ten Sudanese and five internationals have started work in the state of Western Equatoria in southern Sudan. Working with local partners, NP's peacekeepers will work to prevent violence in the run-up to the referendum for secession or unity scheduled for January 2011.
Successful Start for NP Operations in South Sudan
Two months after the deployment of the first unarmed civilian peacekeepers to Mundri, Western Equatoria State, the NP Sudan team successfully facilitated a discussion in the village of Kediba, in Eastern Mundri County, between agriculturalists and pastoralists regarding the raiding of cattle. Prior to NPSD’s engagement tensions were running extremely high, and both communities were preparing to engage in violent conflict. Read more »
May 2010 Sudan Project Update
The Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) that ended Sudan's generation-long North-South civil war in 2005 is at risk. Citizens remain polarized along political and tribal lines and arms are abundant. Resource conflict and human displacement contribute to conflict throughout the region. The Governments of Sudan and semi-autonomous South Sudan continue to maneuver for partisan advantage as a January 2011 referendum on southern independence approaches. Read more »
Background
Developing Civilian Engagement for the Prevention of Violence in South Sudan
Project Duration: 24 months (2010-11)
Total Budget: USD6.77-million / EUR4.64-million
Geographic Location: South Sudan (E. Equatoria, S. Kordofan, and W. Equatoria states)
Intended Outcome: Verifiable reduction in incidence of violence and increase in public perception of security during the election period (2010-11)
Expected Outputs:
(1) Civil society capacities to initiate, coordinate and facilitate civilian peacekeeping interventions at district level developed and sustained
(2) Early response and protective action mechanisms established
(3) Dialogue to promote strategic violence prevention fostered at local level
(4) Advocacy and learning integrated in all elements of project implementation
Contact: Michael Warren, Fundraising Director, Nonviolent Peaceforce
Email: mwarren at nonviolentpeaceforce.org / Tel: +32(0) 2 648 00 17
