espac.org - THE PEACE PROCESS

THE ABUJA II

SUDANESE PEACE CONFERENCE

26 April - 17 May 1993

PRESS STATEMENT

The Second Abuja Peace Conference on the Sudan was hosted by Nigeria, in Abuja, from 26^th April to 17^th May 1993. The Conference was between the Government of the Sudan and the Sudanese Peoples' Liberation Army (SPLM/SPLA) (mainstream) led by Dr. John Garang. The Government of the Sudan sent a high-powered delegation led by Col. Mohammed Alamin, Speaker of the Sudanese Transitional Council and includes: 1 Governor, 6 Ministers and other top ranking officials of the Sudanese Government. The (SPLM/SPLA) (mainstream) delegation was led by Commander Salva Kiir Mayardit and included 12 top ranking commanders of the (SPLM/SPLA), and a Technical Advisory team of 5 Sudanese nationals.

The Conference was declared open by the Vice-President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Admiral Augustus Alkhomu on Monday, 26^th April, 1993 at the International Conference Centro, Abuja. The purpose of Abuja II was to consolidate the gains of Abuja I Peace Conference which was held in this same capital from 26^th May to 4^th June 1992.

It should be recalled that at the end of that 1^st Conference both parties agreed on the need:-

to resolve the Sudanese conflict through peaceful negotiations,

to work towards an institutional/political arrangement to cope with the multiple diversities of the Sudanese nation.

to work towards an interim arrangement aimed principally at allaying the fears of the component parts of the Sudan to enable the country (to) develop in an atmosphere of peace and security and

t consult with their principals in order to determine the structure and character of the Interim arrangement as well as ascertain the wishes of the people concerned.

For the past three weeks both sides have engaged in frank and meaningful exchanges of views on all issues that have threatened the Unity of Sudan. We have made considerable progress in our march towards a peaceful resolution of the conflict. Indeed, agreements have been reached by both parties on some areas of conflicts. Notably amongst the areas of agreement are the following:-

A reconfirmed commitment to achieving a just and durable peace through negotiations.

A continuation of the prevailing cease-fire between the parties to allow access of relief materials tot he war-affected areas while the talks are continuing.

A renewed determination by both parties to continue negotiations on the sensitive issue of State and religion.

A commitment to the Unity of the Sudan, subject however to continued negotiations on the kind of political arrangement to be adopted for the future.

A proper devolution of powers between the Central and State Governments in such a way that there shall be clearly defined responsibilities and function between the Central and State governments in the Sudan. In the interim period, there should be a fairer representation of the component parts of the country in the institutional arrangement of the Central Government.

Establishment of a Cease-fire Commission.

Establishment of a National Revenue Allocation Commission (with Nigeria as an Observer member).

There are however, some areas of disagreement, which are central to the core issue of the conflict. Even on these areas, there is agreement that talks should continue till a meaningful and acceptable solution is found. Such areas are as follows:-

a) STATE AND RELIGION

On this issue, the Government of Sudan's position is as follows:

1- Sharia and customs shall be the two main sources of legislation in the Sudan. During the Interim period the southern states shall not be subject to any punishments based on Sharia law and alternative punishments shall be provided instead.

2- The central government officials shall be subject to the laws of the State, which is the seat of Government.

Personal laws shall be governed by the religion or custom of the litigants.

Khartoum is both the country's capital and a state, and as such it is subject to the law prevailing in Khartoum State.

The SPLM/SPLA wants Sharia only as a source of personal laws or in the alternative, the introduction of pre-1983 laws in Southern Sudan with special arrangement to cover non-northerners resident in Khartoum.

b) DEFINITION OF THE SOUTH

The Government of Sudan knows "South" as the three states of Bahr El Ghazal, Equatoria and Upper Nile while SPLM/SPLA views "South" as all the war- affected areas which in addition to the 3 already mentioned also include, Nuba Mountains and Ingessena.

c) SECURITY OF THE SOUTH DURING THE INTERIM PERIOD

The SPLM wants only the SPLA as the army in the South. The Government of Sudan fees the Sudanese army should be in a position to operate all over Sudan

d) COMPOSITION OF THE CEASE-FIRE COMMISSION

The Government of Sudan wants only the Sudanese, the SPLM/A (mainstream) and the other factions as members, while Nigeria is to be the sole Observer. SPLM/SPLA wants other Observers from Kenya, Uganda, EEC and USA

e) REVENUE ALLOCATION COMMISSION

Both the Sudanese Government and the SPLM/A agree on the establishment of a Revenue Allocation Commission. The Government of Sudan prefers to have a Sudanese national Chairman while SPLM/A wants a Nigerian nominee on the commission as the Chairman. The SPLM/A suggests that the Commission should have 3 member each while the government of Sudan prefers that the number to serve on the Commission should be a subject of further negotiations.

f) JUDICIARY

The Government of Sudan wants a partial decentralization of Judiciary to the state but with a centralized Judicial Commission for the appointments/recruitment, transfer, discipline, promotion of Judges, etc., whereas the SPLM/A insists on Control of the machinery for the appointments, transfer, discipline, promotion of Judges etc., up to Court of Appeal level in the States, with the Supreme Court serving as Appellate Courts from the States.

g) DEVOLUTION OF POWERS

Both parties agree on the devolution of some subject matters to both state and Central Authorities but there are still some substantial areas of disagreement on some subject matter.

h) SUPREMACY RULE

The Government of Sudan wants laws of the Central Authority to be supreme in case of conflict between the laws of the Central Authority and the State while SPLM/A wants State laws to be supreme.

the two parties discussed very frankly on all these issues. It is now felt that after 3 weeks of discussions and having achieved some progress on some issues it is desirable to have a recess to allow both parties to hold further consultations with their principals with a view to obtaining fresh directives on matters that are still outstanding. Hence, our decision to adjourn he talks

I have tried to give you a full background of the events of the past three weeks, indicating in detail areas of agreement and areas yet to be discussed or agreed upon. We had thought our achievements was sufficient for a full communiqué to be signed by both parties. Unfortunately, we were proved wrong. A last minute hitch occurred which made it impossible for the tow parties to agree on the content of the communiqué.

Basically disagreement was what to do about "Residual" powers.

The SPLM/A believes that after allocating powers to both central and state authorities, they believe that the residual powers automatically revert to the state. The Government of Sudan believes that the issue of "residual" powers should be held in abeyance and discussed at a later date. Despite all effort, our attempt to reconcile the two parties failed.

We believe that it is better not to signs a truncated communiqué than to sign one that does not reflect the sum total of the work done in the part three weeks.

7. The President, Government and people of Nigeria have put the disposal of our brothers in Sudan all the facilities at our disposal to assist them at arriving at an acceptable solution to the conflict. Nigeria stands ready to continue to help in an objective and unbiased manner, as long as it is the wish of both parties that we continue to do so. We remain committed to peace in the sisterly country of Sudan.

8. I thank you all.