International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance The Juba Agreement for Peace in Sudan Summary and Analysis The Juba Agreement for Peace in Sudan* Summary and Analysis Zaid Al-Ali * Comments, corrections or questions on the contents of this Summary and Analysis paper should be directed to Zaid Al-Ali ([email protected]). The author is grateful for comments to earlier drafts of this document, including but not limited to Amel Mejri, George Anderson and Dame Marsden. Research assistance was provided by Eshraga Mohamed Abdelwahap and Rouba Beydoun. This paper was prepared by International IDEA as part of a project funded by the European Union. © 2021 International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance and the Association of European Election Officials © 2021 International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance International IDEA publications are independent of specific national or political interests. 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Applications for permission to reproduce or translate all or any part of this publication should Strömsborgbe made to: SE–103International 34 Stockholm IDEA SwedenStrömsborg Telephone:SE–103 34 Stockholm+46 8 698 37 00 Email:Sweden [email protected] Website:Tel: +46 8<https://www.idea.int> 698 37 00 Email: [email protected] Website: <http://www.idea.int> Association of European Election Officials (ACEEEO) Vas u. 6. 1/7/A ‘This paper was prepared in the context of a programme entitled ‘Supporting Sudan Democratic Transition’. H–1088 Budapest,The Hungaryprogramme includes a series of components all of which aim to support Sudan’s transition to a Telephone/Fax:democratic +36 1 786 8298 system of government, and to contribute to SDG 16 to promote peaceful and inclusive societies Email: [email protected];for sustainable website: development, <https://www.aceeeo.org> provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels. The programme is supported by a fund from the European Union and from the Swedish International Development Agency (Sida)’. Design and layout: International IDEA ContentDesign and editor: layout: Raul DaliaCordenillo Elazab CopyCover editor: photo Curtis by: Sari Budden Ahmed Awad ‘Drinking water taps inside University of Khartoum, Khartoum, Sudan’. DOI: <https://doi.org/10.31752/idea.2021.3> ISBN (print): 978-91-7671-386-0 ISBN (PDF): 978-91-7671-387-7 Created with Booktype: <https://www.booktype.pro> DOI: https://doi.org/10.31752/idea.2021.12 International IDEA | Association of European Election Officials (ACEEEO) Contents 1. Executive summary ................................................................................................4 2. Context ....................................................................................................................6 a. This paper ............................................................................................................7 b. The Agreement ....................................................................................................7 c. The parties .......................................................................................................11 3. Content of the future constitution ......................................................................14 a. Federalism .........................................................................................................15 b. Financial issues and revenue sharing ....................................................................21 c. Individual and the state ......................................................................................23 4. Transitional issues ...............................................................................................26 a. Transitional period .............................................................................................27 b. Constitutional process ........................................................................................27 c. Elections ..........................................................................................................29 d. Transitional justice ............................................................................................29 5. Security arrangements ........................................................................................34 a. Ceasefire ............................................................................................................35 b. Command and control .......................................................................................37 c. Police ..................................................................................................................41 d. Intelligence service .............................................................................................42 e. Darfur security forces ..........................................................................................43 About International IDEA .........................................................................................44 The Juba Agreement for Peace in Sudan 1. Executive summary 4 International IDEA Executive summary On 3 October 2020, Sudan’s Transitional Government and representatives of several armed groups signed the ‘Juba Agreement for Peace in Sudan’ (hereinafter ‘Juba Agreement’). This Summary and Analysis paper discusses the Agreement’s main elements, with a particular focus on the main ways in which it impacts the current and future system of government. The main points that are made in this paper can be summarized as follows: 1. The Juba Agreement amends the 2019 Constitutional Charter in a number of important ways and also predetermines much of the yet-to-be drafted permanent constitution. One of the challenges during the negotiation and drafting of the permanent constitution will be to reinforce its democratic legitimacy given that so much of its contents have already been decided by peace negotiators who do not themselves enjoy electoral legitimacy. 2. Sudan is to be established as an asymmetric federation. The future Darfur region will exercise a different set of powers to Blue Nile and Kordofan, and it is unclear what powers will be exercised by the rest of the federal regions. The Agreement contains a large amount of detail on the powers that specific regions will exercise, but is close to silent on a range of issues including but not limited to the national government’s structure, the internal structure of federal regions and the composition of revenue sharing commissions. The Agreement provides that significant additional agreements on the federal system will have to be reached in the coming few months, which will be a major challenge. 3. The Agreement includes a significant amount of detail on how the constitutional process will be organized. The Agreement provides that a conference on the system of government should take place; a timeframe, an agenda and some indication on the participants have also been determined. However, it is still unclear what the conference’s purpose will be. 4. The Agreement establishes a complex web of transitional justice mechanisms, including truth and reconciliation mechanisms, investigations and the possibility of pardons. In some cases, the Agreement appears to prioritize judicial mechanisms over reconciliation, although that is not stated explicitly. 5. The Agreement also provides for extensive transitional security arrangements, which are