USAID/OTI Sudan Field Report
October 2005
Program Description
The overall 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. The Office of Transition Initiatives is pursuing this goal within the framework of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement. The five main objectives of the OTI Sudan program are to: promote the emergence of responsive and effective civil authorities; provide opportunities for peaceful dialogue within and among communities; promote the emergence of an active civil society; increase availability of reliable, independent information; and protect vulnerable populations from grave human rights violations and related abuses.
OTI's implementing partners are PACT, the Educational Development Center, Development Alternatives Inc. (DAI), and Internews Network. PACT manages the Southern Sudan Transition Initiative, a small-grants program focused on mitigating conflict at the local level. The Education Development Center has established the Sudan Radio Service, a short-wave radio station transmitting six hours of programming daily on current events, civic education, health and culture in 10 local Sudanese languages. DAI is implementing a small-grants program that focuses on meeting critical transition needs in response to the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement between the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) and the Government of Sudan. OTI funds Internews Network to develop media programming targeted at refugees from Darfur who have fled to eastern Chad.
Country Situation
Uganda Allowed to Pursue LRA into Sudan - Through a recent agreement reached with the Sudanese government, Ugandan troops have been given permission to pursue members of the rebel Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) throughout southern Sudan. The Ugandan military can now track the LRA up to 100 miles into Sudanese territory so long as movements are coordinated with the Sudanese government. Senior military figures from the Ugandan government, the former SPLA and the Sudanese army met in Juba to formulate a joint strategy to defeat the LRA.
Southern Sudan Declares Autonomous Government - In accordance with the January peace deal, the authorities in southern Sudan have formed an autonomous government. First Vice President Salva Kiir, who also serves as president of South Sudan, appointed the new cabinet. The regional government, composed of 20 ministries and seven advisors, includes members of the National Congress Party and various southern-based opposition groups.
Senior U.S. Officials Pressure Sudanese Parties on CPA Implementation - Several senior US government officials traveled to Sudan to urge continued progress on the implementation of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement and the Darfur peace process. In separate trips, US Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, Jendayi E. Frazer and State Department Special Envoy for Sudan, Roger Winter traveled to southern Sudan, Khartoum and Darfur to meet with government officials and rebel leaders. The visits were part of continuing efforts by the U.S. government to bring stability to Sudan.
Increased Violence in Darfur - There was a marked escalation in violence across Sudan's Darfur region in October, just as negotiations between Sudan's government and the rebels resumed, albeit two weeks behind schedule. The talks ended on 20 October without any progress, owing to a split in the ranks of the Sudan Liberation Movement, one of the two rebel groups.
Increasingly, African Union troops became the targets of attack. Between 8 and 11 October, five Nigerian soldiers and two civilian drivers lost their lives in South Darfur, the first AU fatalities. Blame was put on the Sudan Liberation Movement. Travel outside Geneina in West Darfur became nearly impossible, and humanitarian programs serving 1.1 million IDPs were immobilized. Later in the month, IDPs took 34 relief workers hostage in the Kalma camp on the outskirts of Nyala in South Darfur following the arrest of a popular tribal sheikh. The last hostages were released two days later. By the end of October, only essential UN personnel remained in Geneina, and humanitarian services beyond the town limits could be delivered only by helicopter.
USAID/OTI Highlights
A. Narrative Summary
In early October, the OTI program held the OTI/Sudan Strategic Planning and Operations Retreat in Mombasa, Kenya. OTI and implementing partner staff from Washington D.C., Khartoum, Rumbek, Nairobi and Darfur gathered to review progress and strengthen strategic communications, systems and procedures. In keeping with OTI's mandate to be flexible and responsive to changing environments, the group examined the applicability of the previous strategic plan in light of the new political landscape in Sudan. Several key outcomes of the session include a new geographic focus on selected urban areas and former garrison towns given the expected influx of returnees and IDPs. In addition, OTI's implementing partners developed mechanisms to ensure synergy and collaboration.
As the seat of the new Government of South Sudan, Juba is fast becoming a magnet for businesses, international organizations and IDPs/returnees. The absorptive capacity of the town is sorely being tested as existing water and sanitation systems are stretched to the limit and near complete breakdown. OTI identified the need for several quick interventions in the areas of health and water. Grants were made to municipal authorities for the provision of water leakage detection equipment, booster pumps and the rehabilitation of elevated water reservoir tanks.
In collaboration with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), OTI will underwrite the costs of expanding a wing of the Juba Teaching Hospital; the hospital is already severely over-crowded and the ICRC expects an increase in the number of patients as Juba continues to grow.
As stability returns to parts of Upper Nile, there are opportunities to move beyond quick impact projects. With support from OTI, the business community in Leer will receive technical assistance to strengthen and expand the local chamber of commerce. A second grant will fund a study to identify opportunities for increased trade and development near the Sudan-Ethiopian border. As a result of the 1999 Dinka-Nuer Wunlit Peace Agreement, the Wunlit Peace Council was created to monitor and consolidate the peace. The council received OTI support to complete its offices in Panyinjar, Western Upper Nile, which will serve as a community center.
In northern Sudan, OTI approved a grant to encourage discussion of the relationship between religion and the state, as set out in the Comprehensive Peace Agreement. A series of 10 seminars will bring together some 300 Muslim and Christian religious leaders, women and junior government officials in several locations in Khartoum State for this purpose.
A second grant was designated for a legal aid training program for 10 lawyers and 10 paralegals in Port Sudan. As part of this project, legal aid will go to citizens in 18 court cases, including Darfurians accused of membership in armed opposition groups, who face the death penalty if convicted. Others to be assisted include women who had paid for licenses to engage in commercial activities and then had them abruptly revoked without reimbursement.
In Darfur, a skills training program for displaced women in the Kalma camp on the outskirts of Nyala began. The program includes courses in sewing, by hand and machine, computer skills and English, and participants are provided transport between the camp and town. In response to the high demand for such training programs, OTI has agreed to procure additional sewing machines and build a women's center in the IDP camp.
B. Grants Activity Summary
In order to support efforts aimed at ensuring peaceful elections, LTI developed the Seed of Peace program to engage youth in the electoral process. Program volunteers reached approximately 55,000 young people, providing them with accurate information about the election law and procedures.
In collaboration with YES implementing partners and community members offering participatory feedback, LTI issued 45 Community Impact grants in YES communities to enhance the reintegration and YES learning processes. One of LTI's core activities links grants to YES communities that agreed to work together to prioritize their development needs. YES grants in October continued to support small-scale community infrastructure construction such as multi-purpose halls, wells with hand pumps, and training in animal husbandry and poultry production, a reflection of the critical need for livelihoods.
| Promote emergence of responsive, effective and inclusive civil authorities. |
4 |
$328,900 |
68 |
$2,881,918 |
| Provide opportunities for peaceful dialogue within and among communities. |
14 |
$294,975 |
123 |
$1,318,122 |
| Promote the emergence of an empowered and an active civil society. |
3 |
$58,048 |
109 |
$1,634,321 |
| Increase availability of quality, independent information. |
3 |
$45,763 |
60 |
$4,572,808 |
| Protect vulnerable populations from abuse. |
0 |
0 |
4 |
$1,497,122 |
| TOTAL |
24 |
$727,686 |
364 |
$13,904,291 |
NEXT STEPS/IMMEDIATE PRIORITIES
- Implement new operational strategy
- Orientation of new DAI chief of party
- Develop USAID Sudan operational strategy
For further information, please contact:
In Washington, D.C: Victoria Rames, Sudan Program Manager, vrames@usaid.gov, 202-712-4899
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