Background
Sudan has been challenged in its modern
History. In 1955 just as the country
was gaining its independence from
the United Kingdom and Egypt, a civil
conflict erupted in the Southern part
of the country which was temporarily
settled in 1972 before it resumed
and escalated in 1983. The conflict
lasted over two decades until the
Government of Sudan and the Sudan
People’s Liberation Movement/Army
(SPLM/A) signed the Comprehensive
Peace Agreement (CPA) in January 2005.
As a result of the 22 years of civil
war an estimated 2 million people
have died and 4 million others displaced.
The war consumed much of the country’s
resources that could have served its
economic development
As the north-south peace deal was
putting an end to Africa’s longest
war, another conflict erupted in 2002-2003
opposing the Sudan Liberation Movement/Army
(SLM/A) and the Justice and Equality
Movement (JEM) to the Government of
Sudan (GoS) in Darfur. Following months
of negotiation and the pressure from
the international community, Abuja
peace talks led to the signing of
Darfur Peace Agreement (DPA) by the
GoS and a faction of the SLM/S in
Abuja in May 2006. The DPA deal did
not succeed in brining peace and stability
to the people of Darfur. A new negotiation
process is taking place in Libya with
mediation by the UN and the African
Union (AU).
Four years after the fighting broke
out, the situation in Darfur continues
to be characterized by a lack of human
security. More than 200,000 people
are estimated to have died and at
least two million have been displaced
from their homes - almost one third
of the six million strong population
of Darfur before the conflict.
In war-torn Darfur, like in many crisis
situations women and young children
are vulnerable to various forms of
violence. While the humanitarian community
has been responding to the psycho-social
needs of victims of Sexual and Gender
Based Violence (SGBV) in Darfur, there
is still a capacity gap in the legal
response for cases that need to be
addressed, to create effective and
comprehensive protection for prevention
and treatment.
Moreover, because of the continuing
uncertainty regarding security conditions
in areas of return, the overwhelming
majority of internally displaced persons
(IDPs) do not plan to go back to their
villages in the near future. Consequently,
the level of tension in the camps,
as well as among others at risk of
conflict populations and host communities
has been increasing since the beginning
of the crisis.
While humanitarian assistance fulfills
an important life-saving function
in Darfur, there is also a need to
implement programmes geared at empowerment
and sustainability - as a means of
addressing the root-causes of conflict
and promoting the restoration of a
social balance and its inherent human
protection mechanisms. As such, a
broader concept of human security
needed to be injected alongside humanitarian
intervention in order to address the
multiple dimensions of the conflict
and support the continued quest for
peace.
In this context, UNDP strategic priorities
for the Darfur programme focus on
the following elements:
- Support the consolidation of the
rule of law programme in the three
Darfurian states
- Provide capacity building support
to the local government in Darfur
for strategic planning and budgeting
- Implement an early recovery programme
based on an expanded RRP and a livelihood/employment
programme
UNDP
Early Recovery /Rule of Law Programme
in Darfur:
Working in partnership with national
and international NGOs, government
and civil society partners, UNDP is
bridging the relief-development gap
in Darfur by undertaking development
activities in parallel with ongoing
relief operations. Apart from the
Occupied Palestinian Territories,
the UNDP Rule of Law in Darfur is
the only programme led by a UN organization
in crisis environment. This ground-breaking
programme that was launched in late
2004, has been demonstrating that
upholding the rule of law, through
national ownership, is an early recovery
process, key to achieving human security
and governance, rebuilding trust and
confidence in national institutions.
UNDP’s strategy for Darfur rests
on an Early Recovery framework which
includes governance, rule of law while
working on incorporating economic
recovery activities such as livelihoods.
It is carefully designed to promote
development principles in an ongoing
crisis, such as: diffusing growing
tensions; promoting an environment
conducive to peace; and, laying the
first building blocks for recovery
in anticipation of the future peace
building phase.
Guided by principles of empowerment,
inclusiveness and participation, the
Early Recovery/Rule of Law Programme
has gained recognition and generated
sustained development partners’
commitment. Since July 2006, the Programme
has expanded and now employs over
40 national and international project
staff across the three Darfur states.
While putting
emphasis on empowering Darfurian partners,
UNDP has also been forging a broader
partnership to help protect civilian
populations in Darfur, especially
through building the capacity of the
African Union forces in Darfur.
In support of key priorities
in Darfur, UNDP runs the following
projects:
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