The objective of this meeting was to assess the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) on 9 January 2005. This agreement was signed by the Government of Sudan (GOS) and the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement/Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLM/A). The seminar sought to devise policy recommendations on how South Sudan can use the opportunity of the signing of the CPA to promote peace, security and development. The meeting also assessed efforts to establish a new political and economic dispensation, and examined prospects for consolidating democratic governance through sustainable development in Sudan. Among the 25 participants at the seminar were academics and several senior officials from the recently-established Government of National Unity (GNU) of Sudan; the Government of South Sudan (GoSS); members of the South Sudan Legislative Assembly; representatives of the Government of South Africa; key members of the diplomatic community; as well as representatives of civil society organisations. The meeting focused on the following seven key themes: • The Long Road to the Comprehensive Peace Agreement
• Defining the CPA: An Agreement for All or for Just a Few? • Achieving Democratic Governance and Culturally Appropriate Constitutional Processes • Popular Participation, Human Rights and Gender Parity • Development Priorities for South Sudan • Engaging the International Community for Peace and Development in South Sudan • CPA Implementation: Obstacles, Constraints and Incentives
