 |
| |
| Fast Facts: |
| • Project
Document |
| Location: |
National |
| Duration: |
2006
- 2007 (Operationally Closed) |
| Focus
area: |
Democratic
Governance |
| Donors: |
The
Netherlands
UK’s Department for International
Development
UNDP |
| Total
Funds Available: |
US$
600,000 |
| Partners: |
Peace
Research Institute – University
of Khartoum,
Policy Assessment Consultancy
and Training Center (PACT),
National Center for Peace and
Development,
International Institute for Democracy
and Electoral Assistance (IDEA),
Parliamentary Centre Canada (PCC) |
| Delivery
for 2007:
|
US
$ 301,986.83
|
| Contact
person in UNDP: |
Samia
Elnager, Programme Officer samia.elnager@undp.org |
|
Background
The signing of the historic Comprehensive
Peace Agreement (CPA) opened an unprecedented
window of opportunity to turn almost
22 years of devastating war and widespread
destruction into a new era of peace
and development. In signing the CPA,
the Government of Sudan (GoSS) and the
Sudan People’s Liberation Movement
(SPLM) agreed to a political solution
based on a decentralized system of government
that ensures justice, peace and democracy.
The CPA embraces democracy as a system
of governance in which the national
legislative bodies are of particular
importance in ensuring an open, representative,
responsive system of governance. The
2005 Interim Constitution sets out
the powers and structures of this
political system and calls for a new
bi-cameral institution called the
National Legislature (NL). The NL
is composed of both the National Assembly
(NA) and the Council of States (CoS),
which is a new institution. These
legislative institutions play a crucial
role in linking civil society and
the state, thus helping to ensure
that democratic institutions are solidly
grounded in an evolving democratic
culture.
Though the country has historically
experienced the formation of parliamentary
institutions and political parties,
the ongoing democratic transformation
faces a number of challenges, including
the implementation of the CPA; expanding
the agreement to the community level
and to all parts of the country; addressing
the root causes of conflict and its
political, economic and social dimensions;
the shift to a multi-party system; and
building institutions and processes
that are capable of sustaining democratic
governance; and engaging the Civil Society
Organisations (CSOs) in governance and
peace-building processes.
In 2006, in an effort to foster democratic
governance in Sudan, UNDP launched
the Preparatory Assistance project
– “Parliamentary and Political
Parties Development”, with the
support of the Government of the Netherlands
and the UK’s Department for
International Development.
Objectives
In line with the CPA objectives and
the Joint Assessment Mission (JAM) targets,
the project’s main objective is
to promote the democratic process by
strengthening the role of parliaments
and political parties at the national
and state levels, supporting the electoral
process and engaging civil society in
building democratic governance through
civic education.
The specific objectives of the project
are as follows:
• Transform parliamentary capacities,
at the federal and state levels, to
play a fundamental role in legislation
and oversight.
• Empower political parties.
• Help the electoral process
to become a peace-building tool, ensuring
fairness, competition and inclusiveness.
• Strengthen links of parliaments
and political parties with civil society
organizations (especially advocacy
groups) to promote their engagement
in political processes.
• Strengthen links of parliaments
and political parties with universities
and research centres to promote the
flow of information and the enhancement
of knowledge networks in support of
policy planning, policy evaluation
and monitoring.
• Increase awareness of federalism
and its various models.
• Increase knowledge of Sudan’s
common agenda for peace, rule of law
and human rights.
Snapshots of the project's major achievements
To achieve the
objectives of the project, a preliminary
assistance project was designed to undertake
the need assessments and consultation
with the different stakeholders. The
preliminary process aims to ensure the
national ownership of the project.
• In collaboration with the International
Institute for Democracy and Electoral
Assistance (IDEA), mapped the political
landscape and formulated a capacity
building programme for political parties,
mainly within the framework of the implementation
of the CPA.
• The Peace Research Institute,
University of Khartoum initiated a process
of consultation, dialogue and training
for political parties on elections.
The project supported the research process
with the aim of drafting an electoral
law in preparation for the upcoming
elections in 2009. The success is indicated
in the discussion generated among civil
society groups, the political parties
and media on the draft law.
• Preliminary needs assessment
on the role of the National Legislature
(NL) was undertaken by Peace and Assessment
Consultancy and Training (PACT) in June
2006. The needs assessment was carried
out on the role of the NL. An action
plan was formulated for assistance based
on the gap between the existing capacities
and those required.
•In September 2006, held a two-day
workshop on the structure of the political
parties in Khartoum. The workshop resulted
in suggestions being made on the modification
of the legal framework and for the need
to hold further discussions with political
parties on capacity building
• Encouraged debate with political
party leaders, media, civil society
and academics by holding three rounds
of discussions on the Political Parties
Act that was adopted by the National
Assembly (NA) in January 2007.
•Held a seminar on bi-cameral
models in federal systems with the participation
of 75 parliamentarians from the NA and
the Council of States. The aim of the
seminar was to make parliamentarians
aware, through discussions, of the powers
of the respective chambers and the means
to improve the relationships of the
two chambers.
• Organized the first consultative
meeting between the NA, the Council
of States, and state legislatures to
discuss legislative developments and
needs at the state level. Participants
included 2 representatives from each
of the 15 states from Northern Sudan.
The aim of the meeting was to strengthen
the relationships between the respective
national and state legislative institutions
and provide a forum for the exchange
of ideas and lessons learnt in legislative
development.
• Sent three leading Members of
Parliament to participate in a two-day
international seminar on the Role of
Parliament in Peace-Building. The seminar
was held from 18-20 September 2006,
in Ethiopia’s Parliament in Addis
Ababa, with the participation of parliamentarians
from Ethiopia, Sudan and Liberia. Participants
were briefed on the role of parliament
in peace-building and were able to observe
a well-functioning parliament with a
number of responsibilities in addition
to the legislative role .
• In January 2007, organized a
seminar on the Darfur conflict,, with
the participation of over 40 MPs, in
addition to representatives of the media,
civil society, and academia. The workshop
gave the opportunity to MPs to become
more familiar with the Darfur conflict
and to discuss with experts and concerned
parties the role of parliament in bringing
peace to the region.
• In April 2007, organized a second
seminar on the role of the CPA in achieving
peaceful coexistence between religions.
The objective of the workshop was to
discuss challenges in assembling political
and social support for reconciliation
and peace.
• In May 2007, organized a strategic
planning exercise for 100 MPs from the
Economic Affairs Committee; Peace and
National Reconciliation Committee; Legislation
and Justice Committee; and the Information,
Data and Communication Committee. The
strategic planning exercise helped formulate
a mission and set the strategic objectives
necessary to give the target committees
direction, coherence, and a more forward-thinking
orientation within the CPA framework.
As well as establishing a common purpose,
the exercise stimulated dialogue among
committee members about how best to
achieve their mandate.
•Trained 10 SPLM cadres in computer
literacy, and provided English language
training to 41 SPLM cadres. The training
was designed to empower the cadres and
result in better information exchange
and more efficient running of the organization.
• The institutional capacity building
process for the Legislative Assembly
included: training of 18 NA Secretariat
core staff, who received two months
training on computer literacy and English
language. The aim of the training was
to empower parliamentary support staff
to enable Parliament to execute its
legislative and monitoring role; providing
the NA and CoS with 6 computers, 2 printers,
2 copiers, 2 scanners, and 2 fax machines,
and supplied the SPLM-Northern sector
with 2 computers, 1 laptop and a printer.
This is recommended by Parliamentary
needs assessment, to improve the functioning
of Parliament.
|
