Tag Archives: CPA

Permanent Representative of Member and Observer States to the UN Human Rights Council                                                                            …

(August-September 2012) The feature article of this issue of the Sudan Human Rights Monitor gives an overview of the agreement reached between Sudan and South Sudan on 27 September in Addis Ababa. The agreement addressed a host of outstanding post-referendum issues, such as oil sharing, nationality status, security and border …

This study examines the state of the judiciary in the Sudan and its role in the protection and promotion of human rights during the omprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA)-mandated Interim period of July 2005 to July 2011. The paper aims to shed light on the structure of the judiciary and analyzes substantive laws and constitutional guarantees governing the operational independence of the judiciary. In addition to examining the normative framework, this study analyzes the concept of judicial independence and the operations of the judiciary as an institution. This study concludes that in some instances, the effectiveness of the Sudanese judiciary is compromised by the resistance or refusal of the executive branches of government to implement its decisions.

(February-March 2012) The feature article of this issue provides an overview of the conflict between Sudan and South Sudan. On 14 March the Governments of Sudan and South Sudan achieved a breakthrough in the negotiations on future economic, security and social relationships between the two countries that had been ongoing …

Concurrent to the Southern Sudan referendum for self-determination and negotiations between the National Congress Party (NCP) and Sudan Peoples’ Liberation Movement (SPLM) on implementation of outstanding Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) elements, intense fighting occurred in Darfur amidst a deteriorating environment for humanitarian aid. Throughout December alone, over 32,000 were displaced from the Khor Abeche region, which extends from South of El Fashir in North Darfur to outside Nyala in South Darfur. The devastation has largely been rendered invisible: despite the magnitude of devastation and suffering in Darfur, international attention has largely shifted to North/South issues, with the crisis in Darfur “de-coupled” by the international community to encourage the referendum process. Indeed, the referendum has, in many ways, exacerbated the situation in Darfur as it offered a cover for Khartoum to withdraw from Doha while simultaneously urgently pressing for a solution and refusing the mediations’ proposal, resume fighting with their Darfur Peace Agreement (DPA) partner the Sudan Liberation Army/Mini Minawi (SLA/MM), and continue implementation of the “peace from within” strategy.

The clock is ticking fast towards what might be the most important date in modern sudanese history – two referenda in sudan that are likely to result in the breakup of africa’s largest state. With six months remaining until 9 January 2011, the scheduled date of the referenda, the run-up to, and outcome of, the vote must be managed with extreme care. the Guarantors to the comprehensive peace agreement (CPA), who invested considerable effort in obtaining the CPA on 9 January 2005, have both a responsibility and an ability to help sudan implement the CPA and prevent further conflict. It is imperative that the Guarantors urgently redouble their efforts to ensure adequate preparations for the referenda, and help secure agreements on sensitive issues such as border demarcation and oil sharing.

From 11 – 15 April, Sudan held its first multiparty elections in 24 years. Elections were an essential benchmark of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) which brought the 22-year civil war to a close, and was signed by the National Congress Party (NCP) and the Sudan Peoples’ Liberation Movement (SPLM). The CPA provides a framework for legal and constitutional changes to take place over a six year interim period, ending with the 2011 referenda for self determination in the South of Sudan and Abyei, and popular consultations in the Nuba Mountains and Blue Nile. Elections had been included in the CPA as a mechanism for both addressing the key cause of the conflict – namely the exclusion of Sudanese citizens from political participation – and also to lend popular support to the 2011 referenda and to ensure that the process of separation would be overseen by a democratically elected government. Elections provided a critical opportunity to address both the challenges of the CPA and to advance political openness in Sudan. In some respects, the elections represented a significant step forward. A generation of Sudanese who had never before exercised their right to vote had the opportunity to do so. Political campaigning offered a unique opportunity to engage in political issues critical to the nation.