The Intergovernmental Authority on Development (!GAD) has played a major role in
conflict resolution in the Sudan. The strength of the !GAD Peace Initiative particularly
has been its clarity in identifying the key issues at the core of the conflict in its
Declaration of Principles (DoP). From that time the Sudan People's Liberation
Movement/ Army (SPLM/A) and Government of Sudan (GoS), though later, embarked
on a path to seek a negotiated settlement to the conflict. Another achievement had been
IGAD's ability to help Sudan pool its resources that seemed to provide an answer to the
perennial power constraints that bedevil African mediators. It is without doubt that the
Machakos protocol signed in July 2002 was a breakthrough for the history of IGAD's
conflict resolution in Sudan, because of the acknowledgement, for the first time, of the
right of self-determination for the south, and the guarantee of the right to opt for self-determination through a referendum at the end of a six-year interim period. From this
time IGAD's mediators became more flexible, the Sudan peace process moved speedily
and to the highest level; and between 2002 and 2003, the substantive agreements were
signed, leading to the final agreement in 2005. At the same time, the hard-pressed role of
the United States cannot be undermined for real progress in the IGAD peace process in
Sudan. Furthermore, though IGAD faced a lot of challenges as the parties' willingness to
negotiate correlated with their military successes and failures, the organization
commitment in the peace process assisted in achieving IGAD's stated objective. Its also
worth noting that there was a lack of inclusivity in the IGAD negotiations and the
mediators at times were unable to articulate common visions of their roles and sustain
adequate attention to their intervention; however, despite several competing mediation
attempts such as the "Joint Libya-Egyptian Initiative" (JLEI), IGAD has provided the by
and large undisputed negotiation framework for the Sudan conflict since the mid-nineties.
Crucial and worthy as this achievement is that, the IGAD Initiative will engross a
continuing involvement in Sudan that would not end until the terms of the peace
agreement are fulfilled and the necessary stability is achieved, because only then would
there be confidence that peace would be secure. This objective is not realisable unless
there are significant and continuing democratic reforms; IGAD must understand that this
objective is an integral part of the peace process. Finally, IGAD's continued engagement
with the Joint IGAD Partners and the international community as a whole to provide for
support for peace building and reconstruction in Sudan is imperative. If peace is
consolidated in the South, it will demonstrate the benefits of negotiated solutions to other
parts of Sudan, such as Darfur and the East. / M.Soc.Sc. (Peace Studies International Relations) North West University, Mafikeng Campus, 2006
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:nwu/oai:dspace.nwu.ac.za:10394/11457 |
| Date | January 2006 |
| Creators | Ashu, Gladys Manyu, Ashu, Gladys Manyi |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
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