USAID/OTI Sudan Hot Topics May 2006
The Comprehensive Peace Agreement: Making It a Reality
The overarching goal of the USAID/OTI Sudan program is to strengthen Sudanese confidence and capacity to address the causes and consequences of political marginalization, violence, and instability within the context of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement between the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) and the Government of Sudan.
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| Disseminators in lkotos await presentation of the CPA. |
The OTI Sudan program focuses on promoting the emergence of responsive and effective civil authorities; providing opportunities for peaceful dialogue within and among communities; fostering the emergence of an active civil society; increasing the availability of quality, independent information; and protecting vulnerable populations from grave human rights violations and related abuses.
During April and May, over 150,000 people in five States in Southern Sudan directly accessed information on the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) due to a combination of Government of Southern Sudan (GoSS) and partner agency efforts, led by PACT. This mass dissemination initiative was supported and funded by USAID-OTI. Prior to the event, few Sudanese had access to the information contained within the CPA and what it meant for them.
Many knew that it had the potential to change their lives significantly, but most were unaware of the detail. Since the signing of the Agreement over 18 months ago, people had heard conflicting reports about what they would gain or lose, from agreements on security, wealth and power sharing, among others. The initiative demonstrated the commitment of the GoSS to creating CPA awareness among its people, thus enabling their constituencies to participate more fully and effectively in the CPA implementation process.
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| Traditional dance indicating peace in South Sudan at a CPA Dissemination rally. |
The dissemination process was initially rolled out in Upper Nile, Jonglei, Eastern and Central Equatoria and Warub States. With the assistance of Development Alternative, Inc. (DAI), official CPA documents in Arabic and English were distributed to all government officials in the south. A GoSS-approved CPA Summary document was developed and published in English, while an Arabic version of the summary document is due to be published in June.
At the end of March, the GoSS led a CPA orientation workshop in Juba for 300 government officials, educating them on the CPA’s contents and empowering them to raise community awareness. In addition, the Sudan Radio Service (SRS) created and aired audio versions of the summary in seven languages (Moro, Arabic, Simple Arabic, Toposa, Shilluk, Dinka, Nuer), while the Sudan Mirror published 22,000 CPA Summary supplements in its Easter Edition.
Dissemination teams were chosen from within government and civil society. The initiatives kicked off with well-attended public rallies in state capitals, counties and villages. Supported and often attended by senior government officials, these gatherings targeted groups such as women, church members, community leaders and youths. Over forty counties were covered in all.
While the dissemination effort had many challenges (insecurity, disease outbreaks, rain, higher than expected fuel prices) and did not always run as planned, it was incredibly well received in all locations by government and non-government entities, alike. One Commissioner noted that “this dissemination effort was the only time in his memory and possibly in the history of Southern Sudan that an agreement was disseminated in a way that ensured the marginalized and neglected were reached in an effort at understanding their individual rights”.
For further information, please contact:
In Washington, D.C: : Michele Amatangelo, Program Manager, Tel: (202) 712-4275, mamatangel@usaid.gov
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