Contacts: Paris: Rachel Winter Jones, (33 1) 40 69 31 66 Cell: (33 6) 23 14 17 45 Rjones1@worldbank.org Washington:Tim Carrington, (1-202) 458 5325 Cell: (1-202) 390 2665 Tcarrington@worldbank.org PARIS, March 10, 2006—The Sudan Consortium ended its first meeting here calling for accelerated action to deliver a clear peace dividend to populations emerging from Sudan’s long-running North-South conflict, and for decisive steps to end the crisis in Darfur. The Sudan Consortium brings together the Sudan Government of National Unity and the newly created Government of Southern Sudan with an array of international institutions and bilateral partners. The structure grew out of the January 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement, which ended the 21-year conflict between Southern Sudan and the national government of the country. Participants in the two-day Paris meeting included delegates from the National Government in Khartoum and the regional government in the South, plus about 130 international partners, including eight ministers of international development. The meeting focused on a review of steps taken so far to implement the historic peace accord, and on future actions to consolidate the peace and address poverty and dislocation among Sudanese citizens. Virtually all the participants called for faster action to deliver tangible benefits to populations emerging from the protracted conflict with high expectations for measurable improvements in their day-to-day well-being. Jan Pronk, the United Nations’ Special Representative to Sudan stressed that the Sudan Consortium must “mobilize domestic as well as international resources” to deliver a “major reconstruction and development effort” that will show clear gains coming out of the peace agreement. World Bank Vice President Gobind Nankani called for “deepened and accelerated efforts” to translate the peace accord into “tangible results” for the Sudanese people. The World Bank manages two Multi Donor Trust Funds—one for Southern Sudan, one for the National Government—to which the international community last year pledged $508 million. So far, $90 million has been committed for specific project grants—with $20 million for the Government of National Unity and $70 million for the Government of Southern Sudan. Participants in the Sudan Consortium reaffirmed their pledges to the two trust funds. The discussions unfolded amid growing concerns over the worsening crisis in Darfur. A consensus statement issued by Sudan Consortium noted that “the situation on the ground in Darfur remains critical and has created a sense of crisis, not only from a humanitarian perspective, but more generally casting a cloud on the country as a whole.” The Comprehensive Peace Agreement, creating a framework for sharing power and resources, has been seen as a workable approach for resolving not just the conflict between Sudan’s North and South, but other conflicts, including Darfur, that have contributed to the country’s isolation, the suffering of its people, and its low human development. The Sudanese delegation was led by Salva Kiir Mayardit, First Vice President of the Republic of Sudan, and a former rebel leader from the South. While calling for faster efforts to combat poverty in conflict-affected areas, he stressed, “There shall be no reverse gear in our peace journey. The Comprehensive Peace Agreement is here to stay.” The Consortium also called for increased attention to three transitional areas affected by the North-South conflict. The three areas—Abyei, Southern Korofan, and Blue Nile— were identified as a high priority for support in the next year. Although the Government of Southern Sudan received increased transfers from the National Government last year, the Consortium noted that “the three areas received negligible transfers.” The development efforts continue to draw on Sudan’s own contributions, which have been aided by expanding oil revenue. Notwithstanding conflicts and dislocation, Sudan’s economy grew at 8% last year, with relatively low inflation. Sudan’s spending on poverty-reduction programs, however, lags that of many other African countries. The Consortium reaffirmed the centrality of poverty eradication and called on the Government to support rural development, especially small farmers and firms, and to encourage private sector growth by lowering the bureaucratic barriers that currently complicate business registration, customs and land use. In Southern Sudan, efforts are focused on establishing a regional government from scratch, a task that includes creating a professional civil service, building structures for managing public finances, including the transparent handling of the growing development assistance. Overall assistance to Sudan rose to $1.4 billion last year, more than four times the level two years earlier, of which $563 million was for Southern Sudan. A large share of the assistance amounts to basic humanitarian support. Consortium participants reaffirmed an overall pledge of $4.5 billion for three years to support Sudan’s recovery under the peace accord, and confirmed that actual financial commitments within that pledge are currently on track. In addition, France, the Arab League and Egypt agreed to become funding partners in the two Multi Donor Trust Funds. ### For more information on the World Bank’s work in Sudan, please go to: www.worldbank.org/sudan |
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