Lasting peace in Sudan requires a new strategy, one which
tackles its multiple conflicts and potential conflicts in
a consistent manner. The overwhelming international
concentration on Darfur has come at the expense of the
broader quest for peace in the country. Unless a more
balanced approach is developed, Darfur will continue to
suffer, and new wars are likely. The 2005 Comprehensive
Peace Agreement (CPA), which ended Africa’s longestrunning
civil war, contains the detailed provisions and
schedule for governmental reforms and a democratisation
process leading to national elections in 2009 which can
be the building blocks for peacemaking in Darfur and
elsewhere. It is in danger of collapse, however, due to
government sabotage and international neglect, the latter
a cruel irony in that preoccupation to conclude the
CPA negotiations led to initial reluctance to address the
developing Darfur crisis in 2003-2004. Urgent efforts are
needed to build consensus among the main international
players on a strategy for obtaining implementation of
key CPA benchmarks.
