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.
This breakthrough highlighted opportunities
for peace-building, such as promoting
development, social equity, and peace
and reconciliation. As peace is sustained,
the strenuous economic and social
realities in this region have made
it very difficult for the poor and
marginalized segments of society to
obtain affordable legal counseling
and representation. This is mainly
due to the lack of a network of lawyers
to provide pro bono legal services
for the poor. In fact, like many parts
of Sudan, rule of law institutions
in Kassala State, namely the judiciary,
the prosecution, police and prison
administration, are in need of institutional
capacity building and training in
order to improve the quality of their
service delivery.
In addition, in Eastern Sudan, traditional
administrative structures have played
a crucial role in promoting the culture
of rule of law and conflict transformation.
However, these structures need to
be adjusted to the realities of the
2006 ESPA. Their roles in fostering
and nurturing the culture of rule
of law and peaceful conflict resolution
also need to be revitalized.
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
factor that makes this region prone
to conflict.
The
Strengthening Access to Justice
and Confidence Building project
in Kassala State is intended to strengthen
access to justice and promote accountability
of rule of law institutions in order
to establish a solid foundation for
development. The project includes
police and prison infrastructure development
and facilitation of access to justice
for vulnerable groups, in particular
IDPs and returnees. It supports civil
society organisations and community-based
organisations to create an environment
that is conducive to sustainable peace
and development based on the premise
of rule of law.
In order to sustain peace by preventing
conflict, UNDP established a presence
in Kassala in October 2005 and launched
the “Promoting Rule of Law and
Peaceful Conflict Resolution in Eastern
Sudan” project with the support
of the Netherlands government, The
European Commission and Norwegian
embassy.
Objectives
The overall objective of the project
is to contribute to the peaceful resolution
of conflict within the framework of
the Interim National Constitution
(INC), the Comprehensive Peace Agreement
(CPA), the Joint Assessment Mission
(JAM) and the Eastern Sudan Peace
Agreement (ESPA), to diffuse tensions
in Eastern Sudan, while paving the
way for long-term development.
To this end, the specific objectives
of the project are:
• To strengthen access to justice
and thus contribute to confidence
building, to promote rule of law and
human security;
• To enhance the capacity of
state government, civil society and
communities to resolve disputes amicably;
• To build the capacity of local
officials and traditional leaders
to develop and sustain a rule of law
culture in Eastern Sudan; and
• To enhance the availability
of legal information and resources
on rule of law and conflict resolution
for government officials, traditional
leaders, students and the general
public in Kassala State.
Snapshots of the project's major achievements
• Two hundred and thirty people
empowered through trainings, workshops,
and public forums on topics including
,community policing, basic computer
skills; customary law, the Sudanese
constitution, and violence against
women,
• Establishment of the UNDP
Justice and Confidence Centre (JCC)
in Kassala; serving vulnerable people
and communities and helping authorities
become more effective and responsive.
• Strengthened the capacity
of 32 paralegals in Kassala on social
mobilisation, human rights, mediation
of disputes, gender based violence
and Sudan treaties.
• Two police stations reconstructed
and furnished; and one prison renovated
in Kassala State.
• Twenty-four awareness-raising
events (trainings, seminars on human
rights) conducted in all localities
of Kassala State.
• Conducted the third in a series
of training workshops for 25 senior
and junior prison officers and professional
service specialists of Kassala State.
Topics included human rights and good
prison management.
• Established a Legal Information
and Resource Centre within the Kassala
Community College.
• Supported four police training
courses on community policing; human
rights and the rule of law; crowd
and riot control; forensics; self-defense;
child and family protection, and basic
computer skills. A total of 700 police
officers received training.
• Established the Gender Based
Violence Group in Kassala State.
• Sixteen-day campaign educating
people about violence against women
conducted in Red Sea and Kassala States.
• Six hundred posters and flyers
produced and disseminated all over
Kassala State in user-friendly formats.
• Enhanced the capacity of 30
judiciary and 25 court officers through
trainings and seminars.
• Established a local safety
committee to consult communities and
stakeholders and draft local security
plans for respective area.
• One hundred and seventy
five clients (individual and communities)
assisted with legal counseling, including
105 cases represented in court.
• Awareness raising campaign
on the importance of formal education
for girls and boys promoted in 10
localities of Kassala State.