Report of the public meeting on the future reconstruction of the Sudan held on Friday April 4, 2003, at the ISS.
From April 1-3, 2003, delegations of the two parties to the Sudan conflict had a meeting in Noordwijk, the Netherlands, with representatives of the international donor community to discuss the reconstruction of the Sudan after a peace agreement has been signed. The conference was organised and hosted by the Government of the Netherlands. On April 4, the conference was followed by a public meeting in The Hague, organised by the International Dialogues Foundation (IDF) and the Institute for Social Studies (ISS). In what follows, the proceedings of this public meeting will be briefly summarised.

Introduction.

For most of its history since independence in 1956, the Sudan has suffered a devastating civil war between the predominantly Muslim North and the non-Muslim South of the country. In 1994, a process of negotiations was started in Nairobi between the Sudanese government and the Southern liberation movement SPLA/M, under supervision of the East-African organisation Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD). From the beginning the major focus of the negotiations were constitutional issues related to the sharing of wealth and power and the religious or secular nature of the state.

In July 2002, a breakthrough in the negotiations was reached in Machakos, Kenya, with the signing of a framework peace-agreement. Building on previous agreements, the 'Machakos Protocol' included an agreement on basic principles of sharing economic resources and political power as well as on the principle that citizenship in a unitary Sudan should be based on rights and duties and not on religious affiliation. Important issues, however, remained to be specified in a future peace agreement, such as the constitutional status and regional application of shari'a law, the isssue of oil production and revenues, and the status of other marginalized areas beyond the Southern Sudan proper. The most important achievement of the Machakos Protocol was that it re-affirmed the right of self-determination for the Southern Sudanese and included a consensus that the signing of a final agreement will be followed by a six-year interim period, after which the Southern Sudanese will choose by referendum whether or not to remain part of a united Sudan. Although the achievement reached in Machakos can only be measured by the practical commitment of both parties to its principles in the future, the agreement has indeed been the most hopeful sign in years. While in the following months the remaining obstacles to a final agreement were reduced, the international donor community started to prepare for the post-war reconstruction of the Sudan. On Jan. 9-10, 2003, a donor meeting took place in Oslo, in which it was decided that a co-ordination conference should be held which included the Sudanese parties. The Netherlands offered to host the meeting.

The DONOR co-ordination conference was held on April 1-3 in Noordwijk, the Netherlands. The Dutch Ministry of Foreign affairs and in particular the State Minister of Development Co-operation, Ms Agnes van Ardenne, played a leading role in the organisation. The Noordwijk conference coincided with a summit, on April 2 in Nairobi, between the Sudanese President al-Bashir and SPLA/M leader John Garang in which both leaders expressed their intention to reach a final peace-agreement by the end of June 2003.

The aim of the Noordwijk conference was to devise a coherent and effective plan for reconstruction - in particular for what came to be termed the 'pre-interim period', the first six months after the signing of a peace agreement. The conference was attended by delegations of the Government of Sudan and the SPLA/M, in addition to representatives of civil society organisations from both North and South Sudan. The community of international donors and facilitators was represented, among others, by the IGAD Secretariat for Peace in Sudan, the Arab League, the IMF, the ADB, the US, UK and Norway and a whole range of other countries from the EU and beyond.

In connection with the closed conference in Noordwijk, a public meeting was organised by the International Dialogues Foundation (IDF) in co-operation with the Institute for Social Studies (ISS) on April 4 in The Hague. The aim of this public meeting was to involve a larger circle of concerned individuals and organisations in discussions about the future reconstruction of the Sudan. Among those invited were Dutch politicians, representatives of NGO's and the private sector, academics, journalists and members of the Sudanese community in the Netherlands. The meeting consisted of two sessions chaired by ISS professor Richard Robison, in which participants to the co-ordination conference discussed the outcome of the three-day meeting, process of peace-building and reconstruction and the role envisaged for Sudanese civil society in this process. After the two sessions, a forum-discussion with the audience took place, chaired by Mr Jos van Beurden.

Speakers

After the the meeting was opened by Mr David Dunham, the deputy director of the ISS, Ms Agnes van Ardenne, the Dutch State Minister of Development Co-operation, gave an introductory talk in which she summarised the conclusions reached in the Noordwijk conference.

The results of the conference, Ms van Ardenne said, were encouraging and in fact remarkable progress had been made. The Sudanese delegations as well as donor responses indicated that there is considerable consensus on what to do in the pre-interim and interim periods.

An important principle that emerged during the talks was that of 'ownership' of the peace-process. As only a peace that is supported, carried and led by the whole population will be sustainable, the Sudanese people should be informed about the peace-process and empowered to fully engage in its preparation and implementation. In connection with the importance of involving the Sudanese people, participants agreed to establish, within the shortest possible time-frame, a quick-impact programme for the 'pre-interim-period, the first six months after the signing of a peace agreement. The quick-impact programme will aim at building public confidence by providing tangible results at the community level; the programme will be based on the existing humanitarian and development assistance and prepare the ground for longer term recovery and development efforts. Priorities formulated for the quick impact programme and beyond include: capacity-building; return and re-integration of displaced people and refugees; development of the economy and infrastructure and rehabilitation of basic services such as health, education, water and food security. A major priority that demands immediate action is capacity building for all levels of the authorities in the Sudan to prepare for peace, esp. for the emerging civil administration in the South. Sudanese civil society, including NGO's, should be fully empowered to engage in the quick impact programme and in planning for longer term development.

Coming to the role of the international community, State Minister van Ardenne underlined that Sudanese ownership of the peace-process does not exclude 'a little help from your friends.' While the UN is encouraged to continue its ongoing planning, it was agreed that donor co-ordination shall be carried out within the framework of the IGAD Partners Forum. In the financial sphere, it was recognised by all that debt relief is necessary for resumption of financing from the international financial institutions. This financing, it was generally expected, will be linked to progress on implementing the peace-agreement as well as to poverty reduction.

Finally, there was consensus among the participants of the Noordwijk meeting that the peace building process requires an immediate start, even before the signing of a peace-agreement. A number of concrete steps was agreed upon to be taken in the near future. While national and international creditors and financial institutions will work on Sudan's external debt, the Sudanese parties will start to broaden consensus for the peace-process with a campaign of consultations with local communities. It was further decided that in a follow-up meeting to be held soon in Nairobi, the GOS and SPLA/M assisted by a number of international partners, will discuss implementation modalities for the pre-interim period. Also, it was agreed that shortly after the signing of a peace-agreement a pledging conference will be held under the auspices of the IGAD Partners Forum, in Oslo, Norway.

Mr Najib al-Khayr, State Minister of Foreign Affairs, Government of Sudan, argued that the conflict in the Sudan is partly the legacy of the colonial administration and can partly be attributed to issues left unaddressed at the day of independence and by subsequent governments. He emphasised that the conflict is not religious in nature and that its major causes are underdevelopment and unbalanced development. The Machakos P(p)rotocol represented a breakthrough in that it addressed these basic issues while leaving the door open to a unified Sudan as the priority option for both the Sudan government and the SPLA/M. For further progress towards peace, it is vitally important to engage in confidence-building between the two parties. This effort should be based on awareness that diversity and plurality are not a sign of division but the source of strength of a unified Sudan. The Government of Sudan remains committed to peace as set out by the Machakos Pprotocol with the support of IGAD partners and the international community at large.

In the view of Mr Nhial Deng Nhial, chief negotiator in the SPLA/M delegation, the Machakos agreement represents a landmark, particularly in its recognition that unity must be based on consensus. Since the agreement, hopes for peace in the Sudan have gained momentum, but much work remains to be done. There is agreement now on the basics of sharing power and wealth but many related and subsidiary issues remain to be resolved, such as the status of national capital, the allocation of resources, the structure of the executive, the representation of the SPLM, the timing of the elections and the sources of legislation and status of religious law. Another pending issue is that of the status of the three areas of Abyei, Nuba Mountains and Southern Blue Nile. SPLA/M accepted to discuss these under a separate, direct Kenyan mediation, on the understanding that any agreement on the three areas would eventually form an integral part of any overall peace-accord. The concern of SPLA/M now is how to make voluntary unity a viable option. This will depend on the seriousness of both parties in the implementation of the final agreement in good faith. Mr Ishaq Diwan, World Bank Deputy Director for Sudan, highlighted some of the issues of reconstruction that require particular attention from the perspective of international financial institutions. The emphasis during the pre-interim period, he agreed, should be on building the credibility of peace. Among other things, this includes food security, which should depend not only on aid but also on the vast and fertile land in the South. A major priority during the six-year interim period is the provision of social services. Especially in the South, education and health services have completely collapsed and an important question is how to allocate more resources for their reconstruction. Ishaq Diwan further drew attention to the fact that the Sudanese economy is growing but without any significant poverty alleviation because growth mainly comes from oil-production and mechanised agriculture. This situation requires reforms such as an emphasis on the traditional rain-fed agricultural sector and the development of small and medium size projects and legal and financial frameworks to enable the Sudan to take more advantage of its resources of oil and agriculture. A final factor that is hindering Sudan's economy is the $ 20 billion external debt. This debt, most of which is due to international organisations, deprives the country from making use of the financial resources of globalisation and international financial organisations. As writing off all the foreign debts of the Sudan is impossible, a new international mechanism should be devised to address the issue.

Mr Acuil Malith Banggol, representative for the local NGO's from Southern Sudan (FOSCO), reminded the audience that the notion of 'ownership' of the peace process refers in the first place to the support of the people of Southern Sudan. This support, he argued, will only be forthcoming if those basic issues are addressed that caused the Southern Sudanese to take up arms in the first place. These basic issues include not only socio-economic underdevelopment and marginalisation, but also policies of cultural exclusion and lack of trust and confidence resulting from the historical experience of slavery, armed conflict and dishonoured agreements. In the IGAD peace process, substantial progress has been made with regard to the economic and political issues, but the cultural dimension of the conflict has not been adequately addressed. The role of the international community - governments and international civil society alike - should be to ensure that all the basic causes of hostilities are adequately addressed in the final peace-agreement. During the interim period, after the signing of the agreement, it should offer effective guarantees for the implementation of the agreement. The referendum at the end of the interim period should be internationally supervised so as to guarantee that the people of the South have a genuine chance to choose.

Dr Hussein Elobeid, representative for the local NGO's from Northern Sudan (CHARM), gave his views on the role that should be played by Northern Sudanese NGO's in the post-conflict era and on the difficulties they may face in playing this role. Elobeid drew attention to the peace-building activities of Northern Sudanese civil society organisations in both government and SPLA held areas, such as de-mining projects, anti-abduction activities and the Sudanese Women Peace Initiative. In the post war era, he argued, local NGO's should engage in peace and confidence-building and reconciliation at the grass-root level; they should represent the marginalised, advocate and monitor human rights and good governance and act as early warning signals for potential setbacks. The main constraints facing the local NGO's in playing this role concern their relationship to both the authorities and the international civil society organisations who often view them as competitors rather than partners. In their relationship with the authorities, local NGO's - and civil society in general - are under-represented in the decision-making process. In their co-operation with international organisations, local NGO's often find themselves forced to incorporate their structures, concerns and priorities. Moreover, the conditionality and bureaucracy of international donors often obstruct the funding procedures. Instead, Dr Elobeid pleaded for inclusive partnerships and relationships that reinforce the capacities and structures of local NGO's, and for timely and uninterrupted funding procedures.

Discussion

At the end of the morning- and afternoon sessions, there was time for questions and at the end of the day a forum discussion was held. The forum-discussion was chaired by Mr Jos van Beurden; the panel included Ms Marina Peter of Sudan Focal Point Europe; Mr Bert Koenders, MP for the Dutch Labour Party; Mr Egbert Wesselink of Pax Christi and the speakers of the second session, Mr Acuil Malith Banggol and Dr Hussein Elobeid. Most of the questions were asked by Sudanese living in the Netherlands.

One issue of concern among the audience was the involvement of the Sudanese people, and in particular civil society, in the peace process. Several participants to the discussions underlined that the peace process - including the donor conference - was dominated by the Sudan government and the SPLA/M, both of which were not deemed representative of the whole Sudanese population. If peace is to be sustainable, it was argued, a much broader coalition should be involved in the peace negotiations, including other political and regional groups and civil society organisations. Gwado Ador argued that in spite of the emphasis on 'ownership', civil society had thus far not been included in the peace process. In reply, Najib al-Khayr and Nhial Deng, representatives of the Sudanese government and the SPLA/M, reassured the audience that the involvement of local civil society had been a prominent issue on the conference agenda and that in fact this public meeting bore testimony to the importance attached to this issue.

Further, there was a general concern among the audience about the fragility of the peace process. Gwado Ador, William Veto and others wondered what, in view of the many remaining obstacles, made the participants so optimistic as to expect that a final peace would be signed in June. Among the remaining obstacles mentioned were the fact that important questions pertaining to wealth- and power-sharing remain unresolved, the government in the North remains committed to its islamist agenda and the Egyptian government has so far been reluctant to recognise the Machakos agreement. State Minister van Ardenne, Acuil Banggol and Marina Peter argued that although basic issues remain to be resolved, the goodwill shown by both parties as well as the support of the international community were good reasons to be cautiously optimistic. Najib al-Khayr added that another reason for optimism was the fact that the issue of religion and state had now been addressed by the agreement on a constitution in which rights & duties are defined on the basis of citizenship. The Egyptian opposition to the Machakos agreement, al-Khayr continued, was only a minor obstacle in view of the general support of the Sudanese people and the international community. Nhial Deng agreed with al-Khayr on this point, adding that even the DUP, the Northern Sudanese party that is closest to Egypt, supports the process and defies the criticism of its historical ally.

A third and perhaps the most prominent theme that emerged in the discussions was the importance to make reconciliation and confidence-building part of the peace process. Mahmoud al-Zayn, Acuil Banggol and Marina Peter argued that the basic causes of conflict are not only unequal distribution of political power and economic resources, but also a deep-rooted mutual suspicion and a sense of racial, cultural and religious exclusion among the Southern Sudanese. Unlike political and economic issues, this cultural and ethnic dimension had in their view not been adequately addressed in the conference. Ownership and support for the peace process, in particular among the Southern population, requires an effort of reconciliation and confidence-building which is a task that belongs especially to civil society organisations. In this context, Marina Peter emphasised the importance of public education, of informing the population not only in the South but throughout the country about the peace process.

Finally, the discussion focussed on the role of the international community in the peace process, and in particular that of Europe and the Netherlands. There was some criticism among the public regarding the outcome of the Noordwijk conference. For one thing, it was argued that no budget had been specified or mentioned in the final communiqué of the meeting. Others were concerned about the effectiveness of the intended Quick Impact Programme. Reem Fakhreddin expressed her apprehension that a Quick Impact programme devised in offices abroad will not be sufficiently tailored to the specific local needs and circumstances and will therefore not lead to real reconstruction in the long term. Others replied that the way to prevent this was a good co-operation between international and local civil society organisations. In this context, both Alega Maluk of the SPLA/M and Hussein Elobeid of the Northern Sudanese civil society emphasised that although the help and support of the international community is indispensable for peace and development in the Sudan, the non-Sudanese should not take the lead and initiative from the Sudanese. All activities should be co-ordinated and implemented in the first place by the Sudanese themselves. Marina Peter and Egbert Wesselink suggested that one important area where Europe, and in particular the Netherlands, could play a role was that of advocating and monitoring compliance to human rights. Other priority areas mentioned in relation to the role of the Netherlands were those of monitoring the transparency of financial flows, support for media and the involvement of Dutch political parties. Bert Koenders, MP of the Dutch Labour party, agreed that in the later stages of the peace process Dutch political parties could make their contribution.

After the Forum discussion, the Dutch State Minister of Development Co-operation, Ms Agnes van Ardenne, presented a number of concluding observations.

During the discussions, Ms van Ardenne said, many important points were raised which need to be integrated into what has already been agreed upon. The quick impact programme should be implemented as soon as an agreement is signed in order to maintain the momentum of peace. All activities undertaken within its framework must adhere to considerations relating to human rights, gender sensitivity, security and freedom of movement. NGO's are expected to play an instrumental role in involving the people in the peace building and reconstruction efforts as well as in capacity building. Also the media should be enabled to play its key role in creating a favourable atmosphere for peace and reconstruction. In all financial and budgetary matters, transparency should be a top priority from the very beginning.

Ms van Ardenne put a personal emphasis on the need for close co-ordination between all the parties inside and outside the Sudan involved in the quick impact programme. The planned meeting in Nairobi will deal with planning and implementation of the quick impact programme and the assignment of roles and responsibilities. The World Bank will co-ordinate and harmonise all these efforts and set the overall agenda.

Ms van Ardenne concluded her evaluation with a number of remarks about the role of the Netherlands in the peace process. The Dutch government, she assured, is committed to make the peace process in the Sudan a success. Besides the intention to continue its involvement in existing verification and monitoring missions in the Sudan, the government of the Netherlands is already engaged in negotiations with the Sudan government and private sector about Dutch private sector investments. Within the Netherlands, she concluded, a platform for Dutch NGO's working in the Sudan should be established so as to facilitate co-ordination. In addition, there is a need for a Sudan Expert Group that may provide advice and expertise to the Dutch government.

The meeting was closed by Mr Dick de Zeeuw, Chairman of International Dialogues Foundation.