Signed
on 9 January 2005, the Comprehensive
Peace Agreement (CPA) lays the conceptual
and substantive foundation for post-conflict
recovery and rehabilitation in Sudan.
In order to promote peace, stability,
and reconciliation throughout the
country, the CPA includes detailed
instructions for the sharing of power
and resources between the Sudan People’s
Liberation Movement /Army (SPLM/A),
the Government of Sudan (GOS), and
other stakeholders.
These power-sharing arrangements
are particularly crucial in the Three
Protocol Areas. These Areas - Abyei,
Blue Nile State, and Southern Kordofan
State— were located along the frontlines
during the North-South civil war and
have been particularly hard hit by
the country’s decades of warfare.
Therefore they have been confronted
with unique challenges on the road
to peace and recovery, including an
influx of returnees (both refugees
and internally displaced persons),
widespread poverty, insecurity, and
a lack of basic infrastructure. At
the same time, the Three Protocol.
Areas are viewed as potential “models
for peaceful co-existence based upon
the implementation of the CPA and
the consensual sharing of resources
to meet basic needs and satisfaction
of human rights.” Indeed, due to their
wealth of natural resources (including
oil, agricultural land, water, Gum
Arabic, and minerals), as well as
their geographic location, the Protocol
Areas are critical to long-term stability
and economic development in Sudan.
Thus, in recognition of this unique
situation, Abyei, Blue Nile State,
and Southern Kordofan State were each
afforded special status under the
CPA. The term “Protocol Areas”
derives from the fact that these areas
were the subject of special protocols
within the peace agreement.
Protocols
And Agreements In Brief
The 2002 Machakos Protocol, which
formed the foundation for the Comprehensive
Peace Agreement, used the 1956 independence
boundaries to demarcate the border
between northern and southern Sudan.
This boundary, however, excluded Abyei,
an area defined ethnically and geographically
as the nine Chiefdoms of the Dinka-Ngok,
and the Nuba Mountains and Southern
Blue Nile (now Blue Nile) State. Consequently,
two additional protocols were adopted
in Naivasha, Kenya on 26 May 2004
to address the particular needs of
the Three Areas. These protocols were
later incorporated into the CPA.
The Protocol on the Resolution of
the Abyei Conflict provides for an
interim period of a few years following
the signing of the CPA, during which
Abyei shall have special administrative
status under the institution of the
Presidency and shall be administered
locally by an Executive Council. During
this interim period, residents of
Abyei shall be citizens of both Western
Kordofan and Bahr el Ghazal states,
with representation in both legislatures.
Oil revenues from Abyei will be divided
six ways.
At the end of the interim period,
residents of Abyei will vote whether
to retain their special administrative
status in the North or to become part
of Bahr el Ghazal State in the South.
The Abyei referendum will coincide
with the referendum for Southern Sudan.
The Abyei Protocol also requires the
Presidency to establish two commissions
in preparation for the Abyei referendum.
The Abyei Referendum Commission is
responsible for conducting the Abyei
referendum, including establishing
criteria for residence in Abyei and,
consequently, eligibility for participation
in the referendum.
Pursuant to the Protocol on the Resolution
of the Conflict in Southern Kordofan
and Blue Nile States, the pre-CPA
state of Southern Blue Nile became
known simply as Blue Nile State and
the boundaries of Southern Kordofan/Nuba
Mountains State were redefined to
follow the pre-1974 boundaries of
Southern Kordofan Province.
The Protocol for Southern Kordofan
and Blue Nile grants these two states
a degree of autonomy within the National
Government, which could serve as a
national model for the relationship
between the center and the states
in a federal system. Under the Protocol,
Blue Nile and Southern Kordofan States
shall be governed by a state executive,
legislature, and judiciary. The Protocol,
moreover, provides for the establishment
of a State Land Commission in each
of the two states, which will work
alongside the National Land Commission
to settle land disputes.
The Protocol for Southern Kordofan
and Blue Nile also calls for a census
and elections within four years of
signing of the CPA. In the lead up
to these elections, the National Congress
Party shall comprise 55% and the SPLM
shall comprise 45% of the executive
and legislature in each of the two
states. The governorship in the two
states shall rotate, with each party
occupying the Office of the Governor
for half of the pre-election period.
The Protocol on the Resolution of
the Conflict in Southern Kordofan
and Blue Nile States, however, is
not the final agreement for these
two areas. Rather, it must be tested
through popular consultations following
the national and local elections.
This consultation shall be carried
out indirectly through representatives
elected to the state assembly in each
state.
Given the importance of the Three
Protocol Areas for the long-term stability
and economic development in Sudan,
UNDP’s interventions in each
of these locations are designed to
promote good governance, rule of law,
social inclusion, confidence building,
participatory planning, and early
recovery while responding to the regions’
unique challenges and opportunities.
UNDP’s priorities for the Three
Protocol Areas focus on providing
the necessary support to local governance
and decentralization process, strengthening
access to justice and capacity building
of state rule of law institutions,
Support Socio-Economic Development
and Livelihoods Security
In order to address
key priorities in the three Protocol
Areas in Sudan, UNDP supports the
following projects:
Previous capture
