Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
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The Peace Agreement between the Government of Sudan and the SPLM/A

On 31 December 2004, the Government of Sudan (GoS) and the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A) concluded the peace negotiations that had been in progress since May 2002. The final, Comprehensive Peace Agreement was signed with great ceremony in Nairobi on 9 January 2005 by Sudan’s Vice President, Ali Osman Taha, and the Chairman of  the SPLM, John Garang de Mabior. The negotiations were led by a special secretariat set up under the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD).1 The Norwegian International Development Minister, Hilde F. Johnson, had close contact with both parties throughout the negotiation process. In addition, Norwegian observers and resource persons have been present during all the negotiation rounds.

The peace agreement

The peace agreement is a comprehensive document of more than 200 pages. The various chapters set out principles that are to apply for power-sharing, wealth-sharing and special rules for the Southern Blue Nile, Nuba Mountains and Abyei states, and security issues. There are also two annexes to the peace agreement: one describes how the agreement is to be implemented; the other gives the details of the cease-fire.

The main points in the peace agreement are:

  • The parties are to form a Government of National Unity (GNU) that includes other political groups.
  • General Omar Bashir is to continue as President of  Sudan, and the leader of the rebels, Dr John Garang, is appointed as the First Vice President; Mr Ali Osman Taha, who is currently the First Vice President, will be Second Vice President.
  • Southern Sudan is given a very high degree of political autonomy; the Government of Southern Sudan (GOSS) will have executive authority in the South.
  • The peace agreement is to be implemented during a pre-interim period of six months, which will be followed by an interim period of six years.
  • At the end of the interim period, the people of Southern Sudan are to decide through a referendum whether they wish to secede from the rest of the country or remain part of Sudan.
  • Islamic law is not to apply in Southern Sudan.
  • Special administrative rules will apply in two states in North Sudan, South Kordofan and Southern Blue Nile, on the distribution of power between the current ruling party, the National Congress Party, and the SPLM. Abyei will have separate administrative status, and the people of this state are entitled to decide themselves whether they would prefer to be part of Southern Sudan.
  • Elections are to be held mid-way through the interim period.
  • Sudan’s oil revenue is to be distributed between various authorities. Oil-producing states will receive 2 per cent of the net revenue from oil that is produced in the state in question. For oil produced in Southern Sudan, half the net revenue from sales, after the deduction of the payment to the oil-producing state, will be allocated to the Government of Southern Sudan (GOSS), while the central Government will receive the other half. The parties agree that a future generation fund is to be established once production exceeds two million barrels of oil a day. Some of the income from the sale of oil is already being transferred to an oil revenue stabilisation account.
  • Throughout the interim period, Sudan will have three armed forces: the Sudan Armed Forces (under the GNU), the Sudan People’s Liberation Army (under the SPLM/GOSS) and Joint Integrated Units (under a joint command). At the same time, the parties are committed to demobilisation and reintegration of soldiers in civil society
  • The cease-fire is to be monitored by a UN force, which is expected to be established in 2005.

The agreement does not explicitly deal with Dafur, but the main principles for the sharing of power and wealth, and decentralisation, could form the basis for a political solution to the conflict there. The agreements for South Kordofan (the Nuba mountains) and the Southern Blue Nile could also be used as a blueprint for Darfur.

Implementation

The first phase of the implementation of the agreement is to take place during the six-month pre-interim period. Preparation has already started on the legal framework that must be established before the agreement can be implemented. In March 2005, the National Assembly in Khartoum and the SPLM’s National Liberation Council will adopt a provisional constitution that will form the basis for the establishment of the GNU and the GOSS. The parties will set up a number of commissions that do not require a specific constitutional basis, for example the National Petroleum Commission and the National Land Commission. Both parties are committed to including other political groups in the implementation of the agreement. All preparations for the implementation must be completed before the start of the interim period on 9 June 2005.

1 IGAD is a regional organisation based in Djibouti, but the Sudan peace negotiations were held in Kenya.