Framework agreement between the Transitional Government of Sudan and the Darfur Track

Country/entity
Sudan
Region
Africa (excl MENA)
Agreement name
Framework agreement between the Transitional Government of Sudan and the Darfur Track
Date
28/12/2019
Agreement status
Multiparty signed/agreed
Interim arrangement
No
Agreement/conflict level
Intrastate/intrastate conflict (Sudan Conflicts (1955 - )
Agreements relate to several distinct dyads, and also the negotiated independence of South Sudan, and subsequent internal conflict in South Sudan. Sudan-South Sudan. The long-standing conflict between the north and the south of the country dates back to colonial times, where the British introduced a so-called ‘Southern Policy’, severely hampering population movements between these big regions. Immediately after gaining independence in 1956, southern movements started to fight for independence; this fight became professionalised in 1983 with the foundation of the soon internationally supported Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA). When the Islamic Front government introduced strict sharia laws in the south after it took over power in 1988 the war intensified. A decade later, the military situation reached a stalemate, enabling internationally facilitated peace negotiations to begin in 1997. After more fighting, a final negotiation push began in 2002, leading to the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Areement (CPA) in January 2005.

Sudan-South Sudan post referendum. South Sudan became independent in July 2011; since then, relations between the two countries are complicated and violent conflict led by the SPLM (North) in the Sudanese Nuba mountains region has since intensified.

Darfur. Other long-standing violent conflicts are in the east and the west of the country. In the east, the Beja Congress, established in 1957, is the spearhead of a currently ‘peaceful’ opposition movement. In the west, the violent conflict in Darfur intensified in the early 2000s and rapidly gained international attention, even resulting in genocide charges against leading figures of the Sudanese government. The situation on the ground is complex, with over a dozen organisations (most notably the Sudanese Liberation Movement and the Justice and Equality Movement) fighting the Sudanese government and allied groups like the Janjaweed – although all parties have switched sides on numerous occasions. Several mediation attempts have not been successful, due to the shaky commitment of the Sudanese central government and the distrust among the armed opposition.

South Sudan - internal
In December 2013, after president Salva Kiir accused opposition leader Riek Machar of attempting a coup, violent conflict broke out between government forces of the SPLM/A and anti-governmental groups. In addition, several other political militias as well as communal militias have joined the conflict. In 2015 the Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in South Sudan (ARCSS) was signed. Due to unsuccessful implementation the agreement was revitalized in 2018. In September 2019, Kiir and Machar agreed to establish a power-sharing government after struggles on forming a unity transitional government.
Sudan Conflicts (1955 - ) )
Stage
Pre-negotiation/process (Mixed)
Conflict nature
Government/territory
Peace process
156: Sudan Transition Process
A process sparked by citizen uprising to replace the Head of State and have an agreed transition between the military and political and opposition groups.
Parties
Agreement signed by parties:

The Transitional Government of the Republic of Sudan
Lieutenant General Shams ad-Din Kabbashi,

The Darfur Track
Sudan Liberation Movement
Mohammed Bashir Abdullah

Sudanese Justice and Equality Movement
Ahmed Mohamed Tugod Lisan

Sudanese Liberation Forces Alliance
Mubarak Bakhit Ibrahim

Sudan Liberation Movement - Transitional Council
Nimr Muhammad Abdulrahman
Third parties
Mediation

Counselor Tut Qaluak Manime
Adviser to the President of the Republic for Security Affairs
Description
This is a short agreement which is part of a series of short agreements which take place in the approach to the 2020 Sudan peace agreement, the Juba agreement. This short framework agreement reaffirms the political arrangements between the transitional government of Sudan and the parties of the Darfur track, substantively providing for the constitutional process and early provisional power-sharing ideas. The agreement broadly reaffirms the necessary conditions for peace already agreed in previous agreements, promoting development, humanitarian access, continued ceasefire arrangements and more broadly, notions of good governance from all levels of government. These agreements in essence establish a relationship between the new transitional government of Sudan and other peripheral armed groups who seek to ensure that their own causes within their process do not get lost within the implementation phase of new government.

Agreement document
SD_191228_Framework agreement between the Transitional Government of Sudan and the Darfur Track- Official ENGLISH (3).PDF []

Main category
Page 2, General Principles

11. Equality between the sexes in rights and duties and the lifting of historical grievances against Sudanese women, especially women in conflict areas, with positive discrimination and their inclusion in all stages of peace;

12. The Parties (the government and the armed struggle movements - Darfur Track) shall commit to promoting democracy, the rule of law, principles of good governance, protection of human rights, respect for ethnic, cultural, religious, and linguistic pluralism, and equality between women and men at all levels of administrative government;

Women, girls and gender

Participation
Effective participation
Page 2, General Principles
11. Equality between the sexes in rights and duties and the lifting of historical grievances against Sudanese women, especially women in conflict areas, with positive discrimination and their inclusion in all stages of peace;
Equality
Equality (general)
Page 2, General Principles
11. Equality between the sexes in rights and duties and the lifting of historical grievances against Sudanese women, especially women in conflict areas, with positive discrimination and their inclusion in all stages of peace;

Page 2, General Principles
12. The Parties (the government and the armed struggle movements - Darfur Track) shall commit to promoting democracy, the rule of law, principles of good governance, protection of human rights, respect for ethnic, cultural, religious, and linguistic pluralism, and equality between women and men at all levels of administrative government;
Particular groups of women
No specific mention.
International law
No specific mention.
New institutions
No specific mention.
Violence against women
No specific mention.
Transitional justice
No specific mention.
Institutional reform
No specific mention.
Development
No specific mention.
Implementation
No specific mention.
Other
No specific mention.

The University of Edinburgh