Minister of International Development Hilde F. Johnson

Peace in Sudan: From words to action

Norwegian Institute of International Affairs,
Oslo, 13 April 2005

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Ladies and gentlemen,
friends,

This has been a great week for all of us who care about the future of Sudan.

Representatives of more than 60 countries and international organisations met here in Oslo Monday and Tuesday, to pledge their commitment and their cash to the implementation of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement that the Government of Sudan and the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement/Army signed on the 9 ^th> January 2005.

The participant list was impressive.

Secretary General Kofi Annan of the United Nations, First Vice President Ali Osman Taha of the Republic of the Sudan, Chairman John Garang de Mabior of the SPLM, Secretary General Amr Moussa of the League of Arab States, Managing Director Shengman Zhang of the World Bank - they were all part of this effort.

The parties to the Comprehensive Peace Agreement met for the first time in an international conference as one entity through the recently established Joint National Transition Team. They presented their 6 year development plan for Sudan, put together by the Joint Assessment Mission in partnership with the World Bank, the United Nations and donors.

The total cost of the first phase (2005-2007) of the Development Plan is estimated at 7.9 billion dollars. The international community was asked to contribute 2.6 billion.

The United Nations presented the status to date of the funding of the UN and partners Work Plan for Sudan 2005. Out of a total requirement of 1.5 billion dollars there is an estimated shortfall of 1 billion dollars.

Out of a total need of 4.1 billion dollars, not including financial needs of the AU Mission in Sudan, participants pledged more than 4.5 billion dollars for 2005-2007, including contributions towards the needs of the AU Mission in Sudan. At least USD 2 billion is reported as development assistance in response to the needs documented in the JAM report. More than USD 500 million was committed to the Multi Donor Trust Funds (MDTF).

The Oslo Conference has been an important contribution to building peace in Sudan. We are taking the next step - built on what the parties have accomplished.

Since August 2003, negotiations have been conducted face to face by First Vice President Ali Osman Taha of Sudan and SPLM Chairman John Garang. These talks took place in Naivasha, Kenya, and were followed closely by political leaders in Washington, London and Oslo

I have come to know the Sudanese parties to the peace negotiations very well, and applaud what they have done. They have managed to negotiate an impressively detailed agreement. They have found – and accepted – solutions that can serve as a blueprint for all the disenfranchised areas of the country, not least Darfur. This is an important step, particularly since the situation in Sudan does not lend itself easily to the usual dichotomies like North versus South, Arab versus African, Muslim versus Christian.

The crisis in Sudan is also rooted in a centre-periphery conflict over the distribution of power and wealth in a poor and underdeveloped country. A workable solution requires a new form of nation building, based on the sharing of power and wealth between the centre and the regions. It must also take into account a large number of cultural, ethnic, religious and historical issues. This is a tall order – but one I believe has been met by the parties to the Naivasha Agreement. Now it needs to be applied to other regions in the country as well. The sustainability of the peace agreement will depend on this.

The peace agreement is in place, but food, shelter and support for the millions who are returning to their devastated homes is not. The promise inherent in the peace agreement will only be fulfilled if the Sudanese people experience two things: the speedy implementation of what has been agreed, and the concrete support of the international community. This means immediate action to alleviate the current humanitarian crisis.

The crisis in Darfur has come on top of the grave situation in the South. More than half a million internally displaced persons and refugees have returned to poor communities in the South, where they are struggling to survive. External assistance has been limited, and so far the pledges of support from many wealthy nations have not been honoured. UN Under-Secretary-General Jan Egeland has called for an immediate response from the international donor community. The answer came at the Oslo conference, where generous pledges were made.

Sudan has an agreement – now it must be translated into action. Words on paper are only the beginning. The true value of the peace agreement is in its implementation – word by word, letter by letter. This task will be even more challenging than the negotiations themselves. The people on the ground must experience the benefits of the agreement – or their patience will soon run out.

The success of the implementation will depend on the parties. It will require political will and determination. But it will also depend on the level of support from the international community.

Because there are certainly enough challenges to go round. I see three immediate ones for the Sudanese leadership:

First, making the Comprehensive Peace Agreement truly national. This means widening the political ownership of the agreement. The agreement must be owned by everyone. This can only be done by including other political parties and forces in Sudan in the constitutional process and the new government of national unity. This means South-South dialogue. It means involving militia and civil society groups in the implementation process and the new political set-up. It means focusing on local reconciliation and acceptance of the agreement and including women in the new government structures.

Second, implementing the peace agreement. Here the first stage is the most critical. Swift implementation will strengthen support for the agreement and make it more sustainable. After a few delays, new institutions have been established in accordance with the protocols. The Joint National Transition Team of the two parties has been constituted and has represented Sudan at the donors’ conference here in Oslo.

An urgent task is to set up the National Constitutional Review Commission, which will include other political forces in the country. This is urgent, and broad consultations must be undertaken at once. The SPLM has sent an advance team to Khartoum and other key cities and areas both to consult with other forces and to start working with government authorities.

The Government of National Unity will be formed in June. July marks the start of the six-year interim period, during which both the national coalition government and the Southern regional government will have to prove that they can and will deliver basic services to the population. This will call for far-reaching reforms:

• At the national level – lifting the state of emergency, normalising political life, and reforming the various governmental institutions now under the control of the National Congress Party and the current government in Khartoum. It will also call for increasing local autonomy, decentralisation, the sharing of power and wealth, and good governance.
• At the regional level – in the South: establishing the Government of Southern Sudan. This will mean transforming the SPLM from a rebel movement into a civilian government, and establishing new government structures in the South. Key elements will be service delivery, decentralisation, inclusion of other armed groups, transparency and accountability.

Third, taking responsibility for building peace in all parts of the country. This is of particular importance for Darfur, the East, and perhaps in other areas. The Naivasha Agreement provides for solutions to the conflicts, but the primary responsibility rests with the current government of Sudan. It is certainly also in the interest of the SPLM to ensure that these problems are solved. At this week’s conference, SPLM Chairman John Garang assured us that SPLM will assist in this.

The African Union negotiations on Darfur, where the most serious conflict is taking place, are currently on hold. This is partly because of the unstable situation on the ground, partly because the humanitarian and cease-fire protocols have not been implemented, and partly because the negotiators need to be better prepared. There is no easy shortcut to a political solution for Darfur: it will have to address vital political, security and economic issues, as well as environmental and ethnic problems. The Comprehensive Peace Agreement has been accepted by both sides as the framework for a solution. At the Oslo conference, GoS Vice President Ali Osman Taha reiterated his government’s commitment to press for a solution in Darfur, while honouring the letters of the agreement.

But the devastation in the wake of the war, the widespread poverty, and the international implications of the conflict, make peace in Sudan a joint international challenge and a joint responsibility. A peaceful solution for Sudan will have to draw heavily on international engagement for many years to come.

We know from experience that peace is fragile. It needs attention, protection and nurturing. We also know that history abounds with examples of promising peace efforts gone awry, opportunities missed and mistakes made. In fact, more than half of all peace agreements fail, and the parties slide back into war. We know that we will pay dearly if we make those mistakes in Sudan. The stakes are high. Very high.

The challenge for the international community in Sudan is not only to do the right things, but also to do the things right – the first time around. We must learn from our experience of other post-conflict situations, where the anarchy caused by conflicting international policies and uncoordinated initiatives has hampered rather than promoted peace-building. And we must remember what history has taught us in Sudan, where the lack of international engagement and guarantees was a factor in the flare-up of the war in 1983. The international community will have a vital part to play in building peace and making it sustainable.

We need to act along all three dimensions here. First, in security – where monitoring of the cease-fire is key. We have now finally got the mandate for the UN mission (UNMIS) to Sudan, which was decided in Security Council resolution 1590 last month. The UN will monitor the cease-fire, which means that the international community will commit itself to sending a large number of military personnel to Sudan over the next six years. UNMIS must be deployed as soon as possible. The returnees urgently need its protection. Other security-related programmes are also crucial, such as disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration (DD&R), demining, and the inclusion of other armed groups and militias in the two standing armies.

The African Union monitoring mission in Darfur (AMIS) must continue, but it needs more support from the UN and other stakeholders. AMIS has been very successful so far considering the limited resources at its disposal. Their task has almost been a “mission impossible”, but the African monitors have done an excellent job. We now need to work out the right combination of African Union and UN forces and their mandates.

Second, the political processes. Here the role of the international community is primarily to help finance South-South processes and broaden political ownership, and to participate actively in monitoring the implementation of the peace agreement. The Assessment and Evaluation Commission will be a valuable instrument in these efforts. Under the agreement, the commission will have significant international representation from the UN, IGAD and individual countries. It will monitor the implementation of the agreement and report on its findings. This will be an additional international guarantee for the Sudanese people.

Thirdly, the socio-economic aspect – aid. This is where the peace dividend comes in. The international community must come up with the resources - and it will. The pledges just made during the donor’s conference totalled 4.5 billion dollars. It is vital that these pledges are honoured in the months and years ahead. Conferences is one thing - cash is another.

I believe the political will is there, but we need to make sure that Sudan remains a priority for world leaders throughout the time it takes to rebuild the country.

But here, too, we must learn from previous mistakes, from the donor circus that has appeared in post-conflict situations. This must be avoided in Sudan – at all costs. The Sudanese will pay a high price if bad and poorly co-ordinated donor practices prevail. Indeed, this may cost them their peace.

This is why we have urged donors to do things differently this time, and we are now working actively to set up the necessary frameworks. Our programmes must be closely co-ordinated and harmonised. Joint development programmes, joint donor offices, and joint policies must be the norm. Our financial support should be channelled through multi-donor trust funds, where NGOs and UN agencies can help with service delivery “on contract” for the new government. The Sudanese government, both in Khartoum and in the regions, will need capacity building and training in taking the lead in this wide-ranging development effort.

This is a story about the potential for change, change through commitment – the commitment to deliver peace – but also change through understanding the other point of view, change through seeing what divides – and then bridging the gap. I have seen from close up how the parties, these two men, have developed, how they have changed from being extremely sceptical about each other to becoming friends and partners in peace.

Peace is not built by a signature on a piece of paper, peace is built by actions – day by day. But there is hope in the fact that this is a Sudanese solution, brought about by two changed Sudanese leaders and their teams. Their job, and our job, is to broaden that ownership to include all Sudanese people, to build more and stronger bridges, to build a lasting peace – in all of Sudan.

Thank you.