Background
Eastern
Sudan, a vast sun-blasted land of
some 300,000 square kilometers, is
home to an estimated three to four
million of Sudan’s poorest people.
The region is made up of three states:
Red Sea, Gadaref and Kassala. In each
of these states the living conditions
are so harsh that the local population
has been facing acute poverty, persistent
drought and famine, a lack of adequate
access to healthcare and education,
high levels of unemployment in addition
to land degradation and shrinking
pasture areas, for a very long time.
This state of affairs led to
a low-intensity rebel insurgency over
the past eleven years that was settled
with the signing of the Eastern Sudan
Peace Agreement (ESPA) in October
2006 between the Government of Sudan
and the Eastern Front. The ESPA offers
the chance for important changes in
the East through an increased wealth
sharing, a new impetus for decentralization,
and increased participation of Eastern
Sudanese in federal governance. It
is also hoped that the peace deal
will bring about a renewed engagement
between Sudan and the international
community likely to lead to fresh
inflow of funds that should be utilized
strategically and equitably to help
lay the foundations for recovery,
social peace and sustained long term
development.
The Agreement covers economic, political
and security issues, including power
sharing at federal and regional level
and wealth sharing in the three eastern
states. As part of the implementation
of the peace agreement, combatants
need to be disarmed, demobilized and
receive basic reintegration support,
while longer term reintegration mechanisms
are rolled out. The security arrangements
of the ESPA call for the establishment
of an Integration Committee that would
screen and approve the integration
of over 5000 Eastern Front ex-combatants
into the security forces of the Government
of National Unity (GoNU). The ex-combatants
that chose not to apply for integration
into the GoNU security forces, or
that were deemed unfit for active
duty, were offered participation in
the Demobilization Disarmament and
Reintegration (DDR) programme.
The widespread illicit arms, and landmine
and unexploded remnants of war pose
a potential threat to the implementation
of the ESPA, and an immediate threat
to personal security and human development.
Consequently, the success of the implementation
of the peace agreement depends also
on arms control, and mine clearance
efforts.
Given that peace cannot be sustained
without basic human security and strong
national institutions that uphold
the rule of law and bring justice
to all citizens, the ESPA represents
also a major opportunity for restoring
the social contract between the authorities
and the citizens, building confidence
in sound and transparent law enforcement
institutions. However, the judicial
system has limited capacity to effectively
provide access to justice and deliver
services. Detention centers and prisons
have poor infrastructure and are ill
equipped. Personnel in all sectors
of justice and policing are in need
of training and support.
Moreover, the root
causes of conflict in this part of
the country are related to natural
resources. Since Eastern Sudan’s
population is predominantly rural,
competition over scarce natural resources,
such as water, land and grazing, is
one of the causes of inter and intra
tribal tension and sometimes conflicts.
The presence of a significant number
of arms and the unresolved issue of
access to land, and equity in resource
distribution, is another challenge
to sustainable peace and development.
The
strategic priorities for the UNDP
Eastern Sudan programme:
As the lead agency for the Governance
and Rule of Law, and the institutional
Development and Capacity building
sectors, UNDP Sudan focuses on the
following strategic priorities that
aim to lead to achieving the Millennium
Development Goals:
• Develop the capacity of local
Government. The functioning of the
structures foreseen under the ESPA
will be crucial in determining successful
transition to peace and recovery.
• Promote rule of law and enhance
access to justice.
• Support economic recovery
through building of social capital
and addressing unemployment
• Improve security through the
implementation of a DDR, mine action
and community security programme,
linked to a draft extension of the
RRP to the non-covered states (Kassala
and Gedareff).
In order to address key development
priorities in Eastern Sudan, UNDP
supports the following projects:
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