Sudan
With the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) in 2005, Sudan's leaders ended a 21-year civil war between the north and south. The CPA established a Government of National Unity and called for elections by 2008. Important advances have been made, but progress is slow and stability is fragile. Conflict continues in Darfur, where more than 200,000 people have died and more than two million have been displaced since 2003.
Sudanese women are working to play important roles in implementing the CPA and ending the crisis in Darfur. Women form nearly 25 percent of the new Government of Southern Sudan and recently formed a women’s caucus in the Government of National Unity, the only cross-party grouping of parliamentarians in the assembly. In 2005, a diverse group of women from across Darfur participated in the final round of negotiations surrounding the Darfur Peace Agreement, successfully negotiating the inclusion of important gender sensitive language. Throughout the country, women within political parties and in civil society are looking ahead to elections, preparing to participate as voters, organizers, and as candidates.
Despite their critical contributions to peace building and stability in Sudan, women have been largely marginalized from formal peace processes. They are vastly under-represented on key committees and decision-making bodies, and their interests often are overlooked in policy-making. In Darfur, women were sporadically involved as consulting experts in the final round of peace negotiations and were very small minority members of formal negotiating delegations. Their potential contributions continue to be undervalued by those now working to bring security to the region.
By advancing women’s leadership and advocating for women’s full inclusion in all peace building efforts, Inclusive Security is amplifying and strengthening the voices of Sudanese women. Sustainable peace cannot be attained without their participation.Inclusive Security’s Work in Sudan
The Initiative for Inclusive Security traveled twice to Sudan in 2007 in September and in December. In September 2007, members of The Initiative for Inclusive Security traveled to Khartoum, Sudan where they held a consultation with Darfurian women leaders in preparation for peace negotiations in Libya; convened more than 60 women to discuss concrete ways to consolidate Sudan’s Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA); and facilitated strategic planning with the National Assembly Women's Caucus. Initiative staff brought together more than 25 influential Darfurian women leaders to articulate a platform of common priorities for women's inclusion. Inclusive Security created opportunities for participants to present these to Abdul Mohammed, chair of the Preparatory Committee for the Darfur-Darfur Dialogue and Consultation, influential policymakers in the United Nations (UN) and African Union's (AU) Joint Mediation Support Team, ‘The Elders', a group of senior statesmen and women led by Archbishop Desmond Tutu, and others. Several participants participated in Libya talks at the invitation of the AU and UN mediators.
In November of 2006, Inclusive Security held two consultations in Khartoum in an effort to increase women’s participation in the Darfur peace process and the implementation of the CPA. The first consultation, Strategizing for Peace: The Critical Role of Women in Sudan, brought together about 40 women from across Sudan, including Darfur. The second consultation, Building Peace in Darfur: The Vital Role of Women Leader, brought together 15 Darfuri women. Several participants were part of the Gender Expert Support Team (GEST) that participated in the Abuja round of negotiations at which the Darfur Peace Agreement was signed.
Inclusive Security Consultations and Trainings
Click here to learn about Inclusive Security’s Sudan Consultation from September 2007.
Click here to learn about Inclusive Security's Sudan Consultation from November 2006.
Inclusive Security Recommendations
Below are recommendations that workshop participants created as a result of the consultations:
Strategizing for Peace: The Critical Role of Women in Sudan
Building Peace in Darfur: The Vital Role of Women Leaders
Inclusive Security Publications
Creating an Inclusive Peace Process in Darfur: A model for increasing women's participation
Can the Darfur-Darfur Dialogue and Consultation Help Bring Peace to Darfur?
Addressing the Crisis in Darfur
Implementing Peace in Sudan
Women and Peace Building in Sudan
Partnering with Sudanese women since 1999
Inclusive Security and Darfur
Click here for a Photo Report from partner organization Refugees International.
Press Releases & Media Coverage
Click here to read op-eds by Carla Koppell, director of the Initiative for Inclusive Security:
"Who Belongs at Darfur Talks?" Christian Science Monitor, October 22, 2007
"Darfur Negotiations," Washington Times, October 25, 2007
Click here to see models for women's inclusion designed by Darfur consultation participants.
Women Politicians, Community Leaders in Sudan Call for More Influence on Government
by William Eagle, Voice of America
November 16, 2006
Sudan Women Mobilize for Peace: Uniting of Sudanese Women in Advance of Peace Agreement Anniversary
November 8, 2006
Resources
Use our directory of women peace experts to find other women peace experts from Sudan.
Conflict Background
BBC Country Profile
International Crisis Group reports
United States Institute of Peace