Low‐Income Countries under Stress (LICUS) Trust Fund Grant Technical Assistance to Post‐Conflict Recovery Planning in Darfur Public Disclosure Authorized Grant Final Report Public Disclosure Authorized Public Disclosure Authorized May 2010 Public Disclosure Authorized 1 Table of Contents ACRONYMS .............................................................................. Error! Bookmark not defined. BACKGROUND ....................................................................................................................... 3 Genesis and Rationale ....................................................................................................... 3 INTRODUCTION ..................................................................................................................... 5 Project Management ............................................................................................................. 6 PROJECT IMPLEMENTATION ................................................................................................. 7 PROJECT RESULTS & OUTPUTS ............................................................................................ 10 Conclusions and recommendations .................................................................................... 14 Next steps ............................................................................................................................ 16 ANNEXES .............................................................................................................................. 17 Compendium of Project Documents ............................................................................... 17 2 BACKGROUND Sudan is the largest country in Africa by land area, with an estimated population of 37 million. It borders nine different countries with a coastal line of 500 miles on the Red Sea. Sudan became independent in 1956 and has been marred by on and off civil wars since. After more than 21 years of civil war, a Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) was signed between the Government of Sudan and the main rebel movement, the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM) on January 9, 2005. The CPA model was followed in the subsequent negotiations of other peace agreements such as the Darfur and the Eastern Sudan Peace Agreements signed June 5 and October 14, 2006, respectively. The Darfur Peace Agreement (DPA), signed in June 2006 aimed to bring an end to the conflict in Darfur which erupted in 2003. However the Agreement failed to secure consensus among all parties affected by the conflict. The DPA did, however, establish the Darfur – Darfur Dialogue and Consultation (DDDC), as an autonomous and non‐politicized process, mandated to enable Darfurians to voice their opinions and views to achieve sustainable peace and reconciliation in Darfur. The realization of the DDDC was mandated to a preparatory committee (Prepcom) which was to conduct inclusive and extensive consultations among stakeholders in the Darfur conflict, facilitate drafting a broad agenda, and organize a Conference, where representatives will meet to discuss the challenges of restoring peace, overcoming divisions between communities, and resolving existing problems to build a common future in Darfur. Ahead of the Prepcom being formed a DDDC Secretariat working under the United Nations African Mission in Darfur (UNAMID) was operationalized to (a) undertake initial consultations as a preparatory exercise to identify common ground issues that the DDDC PrepCom would consider when established, and (b) facilitate the selection of members of the Prepcom. Since its inception in 2007 the Secretariat has been engaged in dialogue with a broad range of stakeholders in Sudan and abroad. The goal of these consultations was to solicit views, build trust and find ‘common ground’ amongst the various conflicting stakeholders. These initial consultations have resulted in a number of achievements, including identifying relevant individuals and organizations, familiarizing stakeholders in the Darfur conflict about the consultative process and soliciting their views. Genesis and Rationale Looking back at lessons learned from the Comprehensive Peace Agreement process for Northern and Southern Sudan, the JAM1 set priorities but no programming was proposed before the peace agreement was concluded. As a result there was a period before and following the establishment of the MDTFs (Multi‐Donor Trust Funds) when there was no consensus on the most effective post conflict recovery and development programme. Time was lost while the two Governments and the MDTF Secretariats discussed priorities, until ultimately the two Governments established an internal mechanism for deciding on priorities. 1 Much more than a technical exercise to raise external aid, the Joint Assessment Mission (JAM) was an inclusive exercise in strategic planning and economic reconstruction for a war‐torn Sudan. 3 In designing and sequencing support to the Darfur peace process a key lesson that was being considered was that appropriate and timely support to the AU/UN‐led negotiations is needed, in order to inform and broaden an understanding about the recovery and development needs and the gaps and to support the promotion of peace at the local level. This would help in the identification of priorities for recovery programmes and elicit reactions from all parties to the negotiations and, hopefully, support a rapid roll out of some specified, well considered, programmes during the final stages of the peace process, followed by a rapid scale up of this support package immediately after a peace agreement. Such a dialogue could also be an opportunity, at an appropriate stage, for preliminary discussions about reconstruction and development programmes in various regions and stimulate a debate about investment priorities. Stemming from this realization a LICUS Grant TF056702 was approved in April 2006 in response to a request by the African Union Mission in Sudan for financial assistance in support of the post‐conflict recovery assessment and planning process in Darfur, and, in particular, to help build short and medium term capacity for local ownership of the policy and development priorities among local and national authorities in Sudan and Darfur to enable the process of recovery to take place. The assessment and planning process, known as the Darfur‐Darfur Dialogue and Consultations (DDDC), was originally conceived of during the negotiations for the Darfur Peace Agreement (DPA) of May 2005. While many aspects of this agreement are inherently flawed, as many rebel parties did not sign the agreement, the DDDC remains one of the few institutions which retains credibility amongst all key stakeholders. The DDDC process ‐ an autonomous and non‐politicized process, mandated to enable communities from Darfur to voice their opinions and views to achieve sustainable peace and reconciliation in their region; is based upon the continuation of research and consultation among local and national authorities in Sudan and the Darfur population. The ultimate aim is to better understand and address underlying causes of the conflict in the Darfur region and hence to support the Darfur peace process. As envisaged by the DPA, the DDDC process is managed by the Africa Union (AU). Specific activities for which the grant was given were as follows – Providing support to the African Union for follow‐up of the Darfur Peace Agreement, including organizing workshops on the socio‐economic aspects of post‐conflict recovery, and coordinating with Bank experts. Provision of technical assistance to assist in the post‐conflict planning process, in particular related to the finalization of a post‐conflict needs assessment and establishment of broad local ownership through an elaborate consultation strategy and operationalization of the Darfur Darfur Dialogue and Consultations (DDDC) Provision of technical assistance to identify specific requirements for technical expertise and follow‐up to the DPA, in particular related to the DDDC. Strengthening the capacity of the Peace and Security Commission and the Afrcian Development Bank on both the specific post‐conflict planning process for Darfur and the more general use of PCNA methodology in Africa. 4 The Conflict Unit of the Africa Region (AFTCS) has been working with the DDDC Secretariat since its establishment to initiate the intended research, analysis and consultation processes under the Project. As the DDDC Secretariat is a newly established entity with no separate legal status or effective financial management capacity, AFTCS sought the involvement of a capable and trusted non‐governmental organization to support the DDDC Secretariat in the implementation of activities 1 and 2 of the Grant. The procurement process to recruit and contract a suitable and capable organization was completed in July 2008 and a contract was issued by the Bank to the Sudanese Development Initiative (SUDIA) in August. INTRODUCTION Supporting the Provision of technical assistance to assist in the post‐conflict planning process, in particular related to the finalization of a post‐conflict needs assessment and establishment of broad local ownership through an elaborate consultation strategy and operationalization of the Darfur Darfur Dialogue and Consultations (DDDC). Phase I of the DDDC emerged out of brainstorming sessions with a wide range of Darfurians and other stakeholders to solicit views, build trust and find ‘common ground’ among various groups at conflict with