Draft Political Framework Agreement

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Country/entity: Sudan
Region: Africa (excl MENA)
Agreement name: Draft Political Framework Agreement
Date: 5 Dec 2022
Agreement status: Multiparty signed/agreed
Interim arrangement: Yes
Agreement/conflict level: Interstate/intrastate conflict(s)
Sudan Conflicts (1955 - )
Agreements relate to several distinct dyads, and also the negotiated independence of South Sudan, and subsequent internal conflict in South Sudan. Sudan-South Sudan. The long-standing conflict between the north and the south of the country dates back to colonial times, where the British introduced a so-called ‘Southern Policy’, severely hampering population movements between these big regions. Immediately after gaining independence in 1956, southern movements started to fight for independence; this fight became professionalised in 1983 with the foundation of the soon internationally supported Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA). When the Islamic Front government introduced strict sharia laws in the south after it took over power in 1988 the war intensified. A decade later, the military situation reached a stalemate, enabling internationally facilitated peace negotiations to begin in 1997. After more fighting, a final negotiation push began in 2002, leading to the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Areement (CPA) in January 2005.

Sudan-South Sudan post referendum. South Sudan became independent in July 2011; since then, relations between the two countries are complicated and violent conflict led by the SPLM (North) in the Sudanese Nuba mountains region has since intensified.

Darfur. Other long-standing violent conflicts are in the east and the west of the country. In the east, the Beja Congress, established in 1957, is the spearhead of a currently ‘peaceful’ opposition movement. In the west, the violent conflict in Darfur intensified in the early 2000s and rapidly gained international attention, even resulting in genocide charges against leading figures of the Sudanese government. The situation on the ground is complex, with over a dozen organisations (most notably the Sudanese Liberation Movement and the Justice and Equality Movement) fighting the Sudanese government and allied groups like the Janjaweed – although all parties have switched sides on numerous occasions. Several mediation attempts have not been successful, due to the shaky commitment of the Sudanese central government and the distrust among the armed opposition.

South Sudan - internal
In December 2013, after president Salva Kiir accused opposition leader Riek Machar of attempting a coup, violent conflict broke out between government forces of the SPLM/A and anti-governmental groups. In addition, several other political militias as well as communal militias have joined the conflict. In 2015 the Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in South Sudan (ARCSS) was signed. Due to unsuccessful implementation the agreement was revitalized in 2018. In September 2019, Kiir and Machar agreed to establish a power-sharing government after struggles on forming a unity transitional government.
Stage: Framework/substantive - comprehensive
Conflict nature: Government/territory
Peace process: Sudan Transition Process
Parties: Copy of agreement unsigned, but agreement was signed by the military leadership and over 40 political parties, signatory armed movements of the Juba Agreement for Peace in the Sudan, trade unions and professional associations.

Signatories include (but not limited to):
Chairperson of the Sovereign Council and Commander of the
Sudanese Armed Forces, Lieutenant General Abdel-Fattah Al-Burhane;

Deputy Chairperson of the Sovereign Council and head of the Rapid Support Forces,
Lieutenant General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo;

Forces of Freedom and Change (FFC)
Third parties: Copy of agreement unsigned, but the agreement was facilitated by:
The United Nations,
The African Union,
The Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD).
Description: -

Agreement document: SD_221205_Political Framework Agreement.pdf (opens in new tab) | Download PDF

Main category: 4. Citizenship is the basis of rights and duties and is based on equality between citizens without discrimination based on gender, religion, culture, ethnicity, language, region, socio-economic status, disability, or any form of discrimination. 6. Ensuring freedoms and adherence to international human rights charters, especially women’s rights and international justice charters, and protecting the principles of freedom of trade union and freedom of voluntary work, freedom of peaceful assembly, freedom of expression, and access to information, the internet, and the media. 1. The Constitution defines the tasks of the National Transitional Legislative Council, the number of its seats, the percentages, and criteria for selection, in a manner that guarantees the participation of women by 40%, youth, resistance committees and people with special needs. 12. Commitment of the forces, signatories to the Political Declaration and the Transitional Constitution to the representation of women in a fair proportion in the Legislative Council, the Council of Ministers, and the regions or states, and to equitable participation in the rest of the institutions of the transitional authority in compliance with Resolution 1325.

Women, girls and gender

Participation: Participation→Gender quotas
1. The Constitution defines the tasks of the National Transitional Legislative Council, the number of its seats, the percentages, and criteria for selection, in a manner that guarantees the participation of women by 40%, youth, resistance committees and people with special needs.
Participation→Effective participation
12. Commitment of the forces, signatories to the Political Declaration and the Transitional Constitution to the representation of women in a fair proportion in the Legislative Council, the Council of Ministers, and the regions or states, and to equitable participation in the rest of the institutions of the transitional authority in compliance with Resolution 1325.
Equality: No specific mention.
Particular groups of women: No specific mention.
International law: No specific mention.
New institutions: No specific mention.
Violence against women: No specific mention.
Transitional justice: No specific mention.
Institutional reform: No specific mention.
Development: No specific mention.
Implementation: No specific mention.
Other: No specific mention.

In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful

Draft Political Framework Agreement

Preamble

First:

General Principles

1. Sudan’s unity, sovereignty, and the country’s supreme interests prevail and transcend any other priorities.

2. Sudan is a multi-cultural, multi-ethnic, multi-religious and multilingual country. Its identity is based on its historical and contemporary components, its geographical dimensions and its distinctive civilizational heritage that extends for seven thousand years shaping its diversity and forming the source of its wealth.

3. Sudan is a civilian, democratic, federal, parliamentary state in which sovereignty is for the people who are the source of powers, and in which the rule of law and the peaceful transfer of power through free and fair elections and the equitable division of wealth and resources, prevail.

4. Citizenship is the basis of rights and duties and is based on equality between citizens without discrimination based on gender, religion, culture, ethnicity, language, region, socio-economic status, disability, or any form of discrimination.

5. The State shall guarantee, support, and protect the freedom of belief and religious practices and worship for all the Sudanese people, and the State shall stand at an equal distance from cultural, ethnic, regional, and religious identities, and shall not impose a religion on anyone. The state shall not be biased regarding religious affairs and matters of belief and conscience.

6. Ensuring freedoms and adherence to international human rights charters, especially women’s rights and international justice charters, and protecting the principles of freedom of trade union and freedom of voluntary work, freedom of peaceful assembly, freedom of expression, and access to information, the internet, and the media.

7. Consolidating the principles of justice and accountability, including transitional justice mechanisms, and putting an end to the phenomenon of impunity and holding accountable those who commit serious crimes and genocide, and violate international humanitarian law and human rights law.

8. Promoting the right of all citizens to civil participation and rectification of all levels of transitional governance.

9. Independence and professionalism of the nation-state institutions such as the judiciary, civil service, higher education, national and specialized commissions, and regular forces.

10. Emphasis on one national professional army, committed to the unified military doctrine and carrying out its duties in the framework of protecting the nation’s borders and defending democratic civilian rule.

11. Commitment to the principle of peaceful political action, rejecting, condemning, and criminalizing all forms of resorting to violence, extremism, and military coups, or violating the constitutional legitimacy and undermining the democratic system.

12. Adopting a balanced foreign policy that meets the country's supreme interests, keeps it away from biases, supports regional peace and security and is based on fighting terrorism and good neighbourliness.

13. Fighting corruption and establishing principles of transparency and accountability.

14. The transitional authority is a full democratic civilian authority without the participation of regular forces.

Second:

Transition issues and tasks

1. Security and military reform that leads to one professional national army that protects the borders of the homeland and democratic civilian rule, and keeps the army away from politics, and prohibits the armed forces from engaging in investment and commercial activities except for those related to military industrialization and military missions under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Finance.

The army shall be purified from the elements of the 30 June 1989 regime, and the police and intelligence apparatus shall be reformed.

The tasks of the intelligence service shall be limited to collecting, analysing, and submitting information to the competent authorities, it shall not have the authority to arrest nor detain and it shall not maintain facilities for that purpose.

2. Launching a comprehensive process that achieves accountability and criminal and transitional justice, detects crimes, holds perpetrators accountable, does justice to the victims, heals wounds, ensures that there is no impunity and that crimes are not repeated.

3. Legal reform and the reform of the judicial organs in a manner that achieves their independence and integrity.

4. Stopping economic decline and conducting economic reform according to a comprehensive and sustainable development approach that addresses the subsistence crisis, favours the poor and marginalized, achieves the mandate of the Ministry of Finance over public money, and works to combat all kinds of corruption.

5. Removing the empowerment of 30 June 1989 regime, and dismantling it in all state institutions, the recovery of looted money and assets, and a review of the decisions according to which the decisions of the Committee for Dismantling the 30 June 1989 regime were repealed.

6. Implementing the Juba Peace Agreement, evaluating and rectifying by the executive authority, the agreement’s partners and the parties to the political declaration and completing peace with the non-signatory armed movements.

7. Institutional reform of all state institutions, including the reform of the civil service.

8. Launch a comprehensive constitution-making process, under the supervision of the Constitution-making Commission, for dialogue and agreement on constitutional foundations and issues, with the participation of all the regions of Sudan

9. Organize a comprehensive electoral process at the end of the transitional period.

Its requirements and preparatory measures shall be defined in the Transitional Constitution for it to be credible, transparent, and fair.

10. Adopting a balanced foreign policy that achieves the supreme national interests of the state and works to improve Sudan’s foreign relations and build them on the basis of independence and common interests in a manner that protects the country’s sovereignty, security, and borders.

Third:

Transitional Authority Structures

The transitional authority structures consist of:

1. Transitional Legislative Council.

2. Transitional Sovereign level.

3. Transitional Council of Ministers.

4. Judicial Councils and Independent Commissions.

1. The Constitution defines the tasks of the National Transitional Legislative Council, the number of its seats, the percentages, and criteria for selection, in a manner that guarantees the participation of women by 40%, youth, resistance committees and people with special needs.

It is formed by the forces, signatories to the Political Declaration.

2. Form regional, state, and local legislative councils, define their tasks and powers in their constitutions, as well as their seats and the criteria for selecting their members.

3. At the sovereign level, the revolution forces signatories to the Political Declaration, shall, via consultation, choose a limited civilian sovereign level, with honorary tasks, to represent the head of the state, a symbol of sovereignty and the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces.

4. Agree to choose the Transitional Prime Minister by the revolution forces signatories to the Political Declaration, via consultation, in accordance with the criteria of national competence, commitment to the revolution, Political Declaration, and the tasks and issues of the transition.

5. The Transitional Prime Minister shall consult with the signatories to the Political Declaration and the Transitional Constitution, to select and appoint the ministerial staff, and the governors of states or regions, from national competencies committed to the revolution, Political Declaration, tasks, and issues of transition, without partisan quotas, and without excluding any of the parties to the Political Declaration.

6. Regional, state, and local governments in accordance with the constitution and in consultation with the forces, signatories to the Political Declaration. (

The tables attached to the powers granted to states and regions in the Transitional Constitution).

7. The Defence and National Security Council, headed by the Prime Minister and with the membership of the relevant ministries, the commanders of the regular bodies and 6 from the Armed Struggle Movements signatories to the Juba Peace Agreement.

Its tasks and powers shall be defined in accordance with the Transitional Constitution.

8. Interim Judicial Council of 11 members from national competent jurists selected by the signatories to the Political Declaration and the Transitional Constitution, to choose the Chief Justice and his deputies, the Public Prosecutors and his assistants, and the President and members of the Constitutional Court, it shall be dissolved by the end of its mission.

9. The High Judicial Council shall be established, and the law shall define its membership, guarantee its independence, and its integrity.

10. The Supreme Council of the Public Prosecution shall be established, and the law shall define its membership and guarantee its independence and integrity.

11. The Prime Minister shall appoint the independent and specialized commissions from among the list of candidates submitted to him by the forces, signatories to this Political Declaration.

12. Commitment of the forces, signatories to the Political Declaration and the Transitional Constitution to the representation of women in a fair proportion in the Legislative Council, the Council of Ministers, and the regions or states, and to equitable participation in the rest of the institutions of the transitional authority in compliance with Resolution 1325.

13. The transitional period shall be 24 months, starting from the date of appointment of the Prime Minister.

Fourth:

Regular Bodies

Regular bodies in the Republic of Sudan are:

1. Armed Forces.

2. Rapid Support Forces

3. Police

4. General Intelligence Service

Armed Forces

1. The armed forces are a regular, national, professional and non-partisan institution;

it shall be established and organized structurally in accordance with the law;

it shall undertake the duty of protecting the homeland, its unity and sovereignty;

maintaining its security, territorial integrity, and borders.

2. The armed forces shall adopt a military doctrine that is committed to the constitutional regime and law, and that acknowledges the democratic civilian system as a foundation for governance;

the Head of State shall be the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces.

3. The law shall identify situations under which the Council of Ministers may resort to engaging the armed forces in activities of a non-military nature.

4. The armed forces shall be comprised of the various components of the Sudanese people, taking into consideration its nationalism, balance and representation without discrimination or exclusion;

it shall be subject to the transitional authority institutions;

it shall not be used against the Sudanese people;

and it shall not interfere in political affairs.

5. Formation of military or para-military militia shall be prohibited.

And the armed forces shall be prohibited from practicing investment and business activities except for those that are related to military manufacturing and military missions in accordance with the policy developed by the transitional government.

These business activities shall be subject to the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Finance and the rules of economic governance.

6. The functions of the armed forces during the transitional period, in addition to those stipulated in their laws, shall be:

a. Commit to the constitutional regime, and respect of the rule of law, democratic civilian government, and human rights as well as sovereignty of the country;

and protect its borders against any external aggression.

b. Respect the will of the Sudanese people in a democratic, pluralistic, and civilian government, and to work under its authority.

c. Implement policies related to security and military reform in accordance with the plan of the civilian transitional government, until reaching a one professional national army;

this shall include integration of the Rapid Support Forces and Armed Struggle Forces with the armed forces, pursuant to the detailed directives of the Reintegration and Demobilization Commission.

d. Implement the security arrangements stipulated in the Juba Agreement for Peace in Sudan and subsequent agreements.

e. Review eligibility conditions for the Military College;

and review military curricula in a manner that is consistent with the requirements of justice, equal citizenship, and democratic military doctrine.

7. The tasks of the Armed Forces, as well as implementation of the reform program that is agreed upon in the Transitional Constitution shall be implemented by the Command of the Armed Forces.

Rapid Support Forces

1. Rapid Support Forces are military forces that are affiliated to the Armed Forces;

the law shall specify its objectives and tasks;

and the Head of State shall be the High Commander of the Rapid Support Forces.

2. As part of the security and military reform plan, that will lead to a one national professional army, the Rapid Support Forces shall be integrated with the Armed Forces in accordance with the agreed timelines.

Police Forces

1. Police forces are federal national professional civilian regular forces that work on law enforcement;

it shall be competent with the protection of citizens and their liberties, as well as serving them;

and maintaining security, and safety of the community;

they shall be subject to the policies and decisions of the Council of Ministers in accordance with what the law organizes in a democratic society.

2. An internal security body shall be established, and it shall be technically and administratively affiliated with the Ministry of Interior in accordance with the sound legal procedures.

3. It shall be prohibited to establish private police forces or establish units that limit public liberties and human rights.

4. Reform police forces and remove empowerment therein;

as well as modernize them in a manner that achieves their competency and nationalism.

5. Police forces shall be prohibited from practicing any investment or business activities.

General Intelligence Service

1. The General Intelligence Service is a civilian regular national body that is competent with national security;

its functions shall be limited to information gathering and analysis, and their submission to the competent authorities;

it shall not possess the authority of arrest or detention and shall not maintain facilities for such purpose.

2. The Service shall be prohibited from practicing commercial and investment activity, unless within the performance of its duties.

3. The Service shall report to the Prime Minister;

and the law shall identify its duties, functions, and budget in accordance with the requirements of a democratic system.

4. The Prime Minister shall appoint the Director General of the Service and his deputies.

5. The transitional government shall undertake the necessary actions and measures to reform and upgrade the General Intelligence Service so that empowerment is removed from therein;

it shall be based on the doctrine of protection and security of the homeland and citizens.

Final Agreement Issues

The framework agreement shall be developed with broad public participation from the stakeholders and the forces signatories to the political declaration and the forces of the revolution and shall tackle 4 main issues that need more elaboration, namely:

1- Justice and transitional justice:

it’s an issue that necessitates the participation of the stakeholders and the martyrs’ families.

It shall include all those affected by human rights violations since 1989 until now.

2- Security and military reform:

it’s one of the most important issues facing our country.

Without building and reforming a one professional and national army in accordance with agreed upon security arrangements, our country will not be able to achieve democracy, peace, or development.

3- The Juba Agreement for Peace in Sudan and the completion of peace:

the December Revolution pushed the peace agenda to the forefront, which led to reaching the Juba Agreement for Peace in Sudan.

Accordingly, the Juba Peace Agreement shall be implemented after evaluation and rectification of the agreement by the executive authority, the agreement’s partners, and the parties to the Political Declaration.

4- The dismantling of the 30 June regime:

the regime of 30 June hijacked the Sudanese state and its institutions and legitimized its partisanship;

to build a professional state that serves our society without discrimination or encroachment, the structure of the 30 June regime must be dismantled in a manner that adheres to the rule of law and respect for basic rights.

Signatory Parties: