A look back on 2009 - Sudan

2009 has seen the Collaborative for Peace grow from strength to strength. Whilst the year has not been without its challenges, the Collaborative has made great progress:

• It has extended its network to Blue Nile, South Kordofan and Jonglei States to target election-related violence.
• Five new organisations have joined the Collaborative across the country and it continues to receive international support beyond Peace Direct.

Workshops are organised with local communities in hard to reach areas to challenge the notion that violence is the only way to respond to conflict. At the end of the workshop participants elect a five-member Peace Committee. The Peace Committees map conflicts and intervene in disputes, and if neccessary they apply for Rapid Response Funding. Their position as insiders from the community cannot be underestimated.

This is the first time we have been taught something by one of our own sons. Normally it is an INGO or an NGO. This makes us feel we have something to offer and can help ourselves. - Village elder

Rapid Response Fund in action

An oil company had begun drilling on land in the Kadugli area. In compensation the oil company had built a medical centre on land belonging to the Kolba tribe and paid for a medical professional to staff it. However the Koyat tribe disputed the compensation as they said the original land belonged to them. Violence had erupted in 2007 leading to the deaths of three people, but the situation was believed to have calmed down.

At the workshop in Kadugli the Collaborative was approached by a member of the Koyat tribe to express his concern that his tribe had purchased 40 weapons. At the same workshop, the Collaborative was approached by a member of the Kolba tribe to warn that some of his men had been sent for military training in Kenya. The newly established Peace Committee was tasked with investigating.

The Peace Committee discovered that the oil company had compensated the wrong tribe. Rapid Response funding was provided to set up a meeting with the oil company and the tribespeople. Following three days of negotiations the oil company agreed to build a second health clinic on Koyat land.

The year ahead

The coming elections in 2010 and the 2011 referendum on whether the South should split from the North will throw up many challenges to safety in Sudan. Over the next year the Collaborative will focus on expanding their network to reach more communities.They will train people to conduct oil related impact surveys of communities on the border with Unity and South Kordofan. From this they will be able to look at wider issues associated with expected border and population movement issues in relation to the 2011 referendum.

The threat of violence will hang over Sudan this year due to the uncertainty of what the elections mean, political rivalry, oil-related conflicts, and the ever constrained natural resources. The Collaborative offers a peaceful alternative to conflict and their work will be ever more vital in 2010.