Profiles

Government

Since its independence from Egypt and the UK in 1956, Sudan has been ruled by a succession of military rulers interrupted by short-lived attempts at parliamentary pluralism.

Khartoum has been insulated from the country’s armed conflicts by Sudan’s vast size, but it has been the location of Sudan’s three military coups (1958, 1969 and 1989). Regional wars have absorbed much of the country’s budget and served to deepen further the marginalization of the regions, and many of those displaced by the wars migrate to Khartoum, where a large population of internally displaced persons amassed.

In the 1989 military coup, the elected government of as-Sadiq al-Mahdi was overthrown by the National Salvation government led by General Omer al-Bashir, who ruled as chair of the Revolutionary Command Council until assuming the Presidency in 1993. Underpinning the new regime politically was the National Islamic Front (NIF), which formed the basis of the National Congress Party (NCP) from 1996. With President al-Bashir as its head, the NCP has consolidated its power. Although political parties were legalized in 1999 after a 10-year ban, the opposition largely boycotted the general election in 2000 that saw President al-Bashir re-elected with 86.5 per cent of the vote. The government has continued to be characterized by power concentrated in the Presidency.

Omer Hassan al-Bashir
Born in the Nile Valley 100km northeast of Khartoum, Omer Hassan al-Bashir paid his way through secondary school by working as a mechanic before joining the army. He was appointed commander of the 8th Brigade in southern Sudan in 1988 and the following year he led a group of middle-ranking military officers in a bloodless coup against as-Sadiq al-Mahdi. The move was ostensibly in protest at economic stagnation, but widely perceived to pre-empt the repeal of the September laws and an agreement with the SPLM/A. He made himself chair of the Revolutionary Command Council of National Salvation and banned political opposition. He assumed the title of President in 1993 and won elections for further terms in 1996 and 2000. Although his Islamization policies and the ongoing civil war alienated his government from many in the international community throughout the 1990s, the discovery and subsequent exportation of oil in 1999 have opened up the economy to outside forces. He reintroduced multi-party politics in 1999, but the international and domestic rapprochement fuelled by increased openness and the January 2005 CPA have been hampered by the ongoing conflict in Darfur.

Tentative reforms in 1991 included a new constitution based on a federal structure of nine states. This was updated when Sudan was further sub-divided into 26 states in 1994, reinforced in the new 1998 constitution, although local government remained strongly controlled from the centre.

Under the power-sharing arrangements agreed with the SPLM/A in the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) which came into effect in July 2005, the NCP retains a majority stake in the new Government of National Unity, occupying 234 of the 450 seats in the National Assembly. However, the quorum in the National Assembly is only one third (a half in exceptional cases) and there are no provisions under the CPA for this quorum to represent the Assembly’s political spectrum. Under the CPA, a new Government of Southern Sudan (GoSS) was established, with 70 per cent SPLM representation.

The CPA made provision for elections to be held by mid-2009 and for a referendum in southern Sudan two years later on whether to secede or remain part of a unified Sudan.

Southern parties and armed groups

Anya Nya
The southern armed movement that fought the civil war until the Addis Ababa Agreement of 1972, through which its leader General Joseph Lagu became Vice-President of Sudan. Elements of Anya Nya remained opposed to the agreement, forming the Ethiopian-based Anya Nya-2 from the mid-1970s which initially opposed the new SPLM/A.

Sudan People’s Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A)
The Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA) and its political wing the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM), were founded in 1983 by John Garang from elements of the Anya Nya that had been integrated into the Sudanese army. The SPLM/A received substantial backing from Ethiopia until the fall of Mengistu in 1991, and then backing from Ethiopia, Eritrea and Uganda until they became embroiled in their own conflicts from 1998.

John Garang de Mabior
A Dinka-Bor from Upper Nile who joined the Anya Nya, John Garang was integrated into the Sudanese Army in following the 1972 peace agreement. As a lieutenant colonel in the army in 1983, partly motivated by the imposition in northern Sudan of shari’a law, he encouraged the mutiny of ex-Anya Nya troops in the southern town of Bor that he had been sent to quell. He became Commander-in-Chief of the SPLA and Chairman of the political wing, the SPLM. Unlike many of his fellow southerners, he consistently espoused the ideal of a democratic, secular ‘New Sudan’ and was a proponent of Sudanese unity under these terms. Garang led talks with Sudanese Vice-President Ali Osman Taha in Kenya from 2003 to the signing of the CPA in January 2005. He was inaugurated as First Vice-President the following July, but was killed less than a month later in a helicopter crash.

Salva Kiir Mayardit
Dinka-Rek leader Salva Kiir joined John Garang’s insurgency as a major in 1983 and was appointed deputy Chief of Staff of the newly-formed SPLA. Despite rivalry with John Garang and disagreements about the benefits of Sudanese unity, Salva remained his deputy and following the death of Garang was appointed First Vice-President of Sudan and President of the Government of Southern Sudan in August 2005.

The SPLM/A suffered from splits and divisions in the early 1990s that for several years posed a serious challenge to Garang’s group (known for a while as SPLM/A-Torit or SPLM/A-Mainstream). It remained a predominantly military organization, largely abandoning the civil sphere to donors and NGOs, and continued to fight the civil war while engaging in peace processes in Abuja 1992-93 and those under IGADD/IGAD auspices from 1994 onwards. It refused to consider signing internally-negotiated agreements with Government of Sudan (GoS) in the mid-1990s, unlike many other southern factions and splinter groups, most of which had been part of SPLM/A and have since rejoined it.

The SPLM/A finally ceased hostilities with the government in the two years of negotiations that led to the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA).

Under the terms of this agreement, the SPLM/A now controls the Government of Southern Sudan (GoSS) and has a 28 per cent stake in the Government of National Unity, but its promise to be a national party seems weak. It lacks the capacity to manage the considerable task of building southern Sudan while taking part actively in national government, and has not taken the role in the peace talks for Darfur and the east that would have demonstrated its national commitment and taken advantage of its alliances with the SLM/A, JEM and Eastern Front.

Union of Sudan African Parties (USAP)
Formed in 1986 to represent the six parties from southern Sudan and the Nuba Mountains that together had won 37 seats in the Constituent Assembly, the USAP was a founding member of the NDA. It has since split into two parties as the result of a leadership clash.

Other groups
SPLM/A-Nasir was the Nuer-dominated southern splinter group formed by the split of Riek Machar, Lam Akol and Gordon Kong from the SPLM in 1991. Renamed the SPLM/A-United in 1993, it split again into the Southern Sudan Independence Movement/Army (SSIM/A) headed by Riek Machar and the SPLM/A United headed by Lam Akol. Although Lam Akol was a member of the NCP from the signature of the Khartoum Peace Agreement in 1997 until his resignation in 2002 when he formed the Justice Party, SPLM/A-United still has some following among his native Shilluk. Akol rejoined the SPLM/A and in 2005 became Foreign Minister for the Government of National Unity.

Riek Machar went on to form the Southern Sudan Defence Forces (SSDF) in 1997 and then the Sudan People's Democratic Forces (SPDF) in 2000. The SPDF was formed in conjunction with the Union of Democratic Sudanese Forces (USDF) , led by Taban Deng Gai, who had been expelled from the governorship of Unity State by Paulino Matip's militia. The SPDF merged with SPLM/A in January 2002. The SSDF continues to operate in Upper Nile with the support of those in the SPDF, SSDF and SSIM who did not support Machar, but a major SSDF faction led by Matip reunited with the SPLM/A in January 2006 as part of the South-South dialogue process. Machar returned to the SPLM/A in 2002 and became Vice-President of the Government of Southern Sudan after Garang's death in July 2005.

The Southern Sudan Unity Movement/Army (SSUM/A) was a pro-government militia headed by Matip, which fought against SSDF for control of oil-rich Unity State. Former SSUM/A commander Peter Gadet now runs a militia based in Unity State.

Ali Osman Mohamed al-Taha
A former judge, Ali Osman al-Taha attended secondary school with President al-Bashir and was a prominent opposition politician during the 1986-1989 administration of Imam as-Sadiq al-Mahdi. Widely believed to have been a key planner of the 1989 coup, Ali Osman served as foreign minister between 1995 and 1998, when he was appointed Vice-President. Despite his role in the attempted Islamization of southern Sudan and his initial opposition to the Machakos Protocol, his growing personal rapport with SPLM/A leader John Garang was seen as instrumental in securing the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement, under the terms of which he has served as Second Vice-President since July 2005.

Many southern groups formed 'humanitarian wings': the SPLM/A's is the Southern Sudan Relief and Rehabilitation Agency (SRRA), headed by Elijah Malok Aleng; the SPLM/A-Nasir's was the Relief Association of Southern Sudan (RASS) and the SPLM/A United's under Lam Akol was the Fashoda Relief and Rehabilitation Association (FRRA).

Northern parties and armed groups

National Congress Party (NCP)
The ruling NCP, led by President Omer al-Bashir, was formed in 1996 by elements of the National Islamic Front in an attempt to distance the ruling regime from its Islamist heritage as it pursued a political settlement to the north-south war. Following the CPA, the NCP continues to be the largest parliamentary party, which nonetheless saw its seats in the National Assembly reduced from 355 of 360 to 254 of 450. In 2005 the NCP merged with former president Jaafar Nimeiri's party, the Alliance of Working Peoples' Forces, which had won 9.6 per cent of the vote in the 2000 elections.

The National Islamic Front (NIF) , originally the Islamic Charter Front , grew out of student support in the 1960s for the Muslim Brotherhood (an extension of the Islamist movement that originated in Egypt) and developed as a rival source of opposition to the left-wing movements common at the time. It was led by Hassan al-Turabi, a leading academic and architect of the 1989 coup that overthrew the elected government of Turabi's brother-in-law as-Sadiq al-Mahdi. Following a power struggle between al-Bashir an al-Turabi in the late 1990s the NIF split into al-Bashir's ruling NCP and al-Turabi's opposition Popular National Congress (PNC) , but the NIF acronym is still used to describe people associated with the current regime.

Umma Party       
One of the two 'sectarian parties' that dominated Sudanese politics before 1989, the Umma Party is a secular Islamic centrist political wing of the Mahdist movement headed by former Prime Minister and spiritual leader of the Ansar sect, Imam as-Sadiq al-Mahdi. It won the majority of seats in Darfur in the 1986 election organized by Abdelrahman Siwar al-Dhab. An NDA member until 2000, it has since split into five factions, four of which (those not led by Imam as-Sadiq) have since joined the government and include: the Umma Party (Reform and Renewal), led by Imam as-Sadiq's first cousin Mubarak al-Fadil; the Umma Party (General Leadership) led by another first cousin Dr as-Sadiq al-Hadi; and the Federal Umma Party led by Ahmed Babiker Nahar.

Democratic Unionist Party (DUP)
The DUP is the political wing of the Khatmiyya sect, led by hereditary spiritual leader Mulana Mohamed Osman al-Mirghani, and has through its Islamic heritage maintained links with the Saudi and Egyptian governments. Although a rival of the Umma Party since its opposition to the Mahdist movement in the 1880s, the DUP participated in a coalition government under as-Sadiq al-Mahdi between 1986 and 1989. As Chairman of the NDA, al-Mirghani spearheaded the talks with the government that led to the June 2005 Cairo Agreement , which provided for the DUP's participation in the Government of National Unity.

The National Revolutionary Movement (NRM) is a small armed force linked to the DUP and mainly operational in the Khatmiyya strongholds of eastern Sudan.

National Democratic Alliance (NDA)
The NDA was founded in October 1989 to unite the opposition against the then NIF government of General al-Bashir, and has encompassed, at various times, the SPLM/A, DUP, Umma Party and many others. It is now a loose federation headed by a Leadership Council chaired by DUP leader Mohamed Osman al-Mirghani and including representatives of all the opposition parties with the exception of the SLM/A and the Umma Party, which suspended its NDA membership in 2000. It is largely inactive, its demise precipitated by the DUP's return to Khartoum-based politics following the June 2005 Cairo Agreement , the SPLM/A's inclusion in the Government of National Unity in July 2005, the Eastern Front's insistence on pursuing its own agreement with the GoS, and the foundation in June 2006 of the National Redemption Front (see below).

The Sudan Alliance Forces (SAF) was the military wing of the NDA headed by historian-turned-politician Taisier Ali that merged with the SPLM/A in 2002.

Other parties
The Sudanese Communist Party (SCP), an NDA member, was founded in 1944, enjoying a strong support base among student and trade unions until it was purged by President Nimeiri in 1971 following its implication in an abortive coup. Revived in 1986 after Nimeiri was overthrown, it won a few seats in parliamentary elections that year and remains a small but effective voice for a unionist and anti-government opposition.

The Sudan Socialist Union (SSU) was the ruling party of President Nimeiri's one-party state between 1971 and 1985. The SSU struggled to balance its left-wing political credentials with its desire for American support during the Cold War and did not survive Nimeiri's overthrow in 1985.

Eastern parties
Formed in the 1960s to voice the Beja people's grievances over the marginalization of eastern Sudan, the Beja Congress launched an armed struggle in 1994 in frustration at lack of progress, gaining effective control over an area of eastern Sudan centred around Hamesh Koreb. The Beja Congress joined the NDA in 1995 but rivalry with the DUP and disappointment with the scope of the 2005 Cairo Agreement between the government and the NDA led it to merge with the Free Lions to form the Eastern Front and seek a separate negotiating track with the Government of National Unity. The Beja's five major tribes together number some 2.2 million and were immortalized by Rudyard Kipling as the "fuzzy wuzzy."

The Free Lions is the political/military wing of the Rashaida tribe, an Arab nomadic tribe that emigrated to eastern Sudan from the Arabian peninsula in the 19th century. It is headed by Commander Salim Mabrouk Mubarak.

The Eastern Front , formed in 2005 by the Beja Congress, the Rashaida Free Lions and others resident in eastern Sudan such as the Shukriyya and the Nubians, negotiated a peace agreement with the government in 2006 under Eritrean mediation. It is nominally headed by a triumvirate of Musa Mohamed, Amna Derar and Salim Mabrouk Mubarak.

Darfur parties
The Sudan Liberation Movement/Army (SLM/A) , originally called the Darfur Liberation Front, was the force behind the February 2003 Darfur-based rebellion against the government. The SLM/A has been dogged since its inception by the internal power struggle between two of the dominant tribes in Darfur, the Fur and the Zaghawa, and between the personalities of its Fur chairman Abdelwahid Mohamed en-Nour and its Zaghawa secretary-general Minni Arkou Minnawi. The Minnawi faction was the only non-government group to sign the May 2005 Darfur Peace Agreement , under the terms of which Minnawi was appointed Special Assistant to the President. Abdelwahid, thought the most likely to sign, did not. He has since been ousted as chairman by a group of commanders known as G-19 , loyal to Ahmed Abdelshafie Bassey, although he retains significant popularity with Darfur's majority Fur population. The SLM/A has splintered further since the signing of the DPA and some commanders have allied with the newly-formed National Redemption Front (see below). The SLM/A's union with JEM as the Alliance of Revolutionary Forces of West Sudan was very short-lived, and in-fighting in this loose coalition continues to stall the peace process and contribute to an escalation of violence.

The Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) , chaired by Khalil Ibrahim and with its roots in the Muslim Brotherhood, joined forces with the SLM/A in early 2003 to fight an anti-government insurgency in Darfur but has ambitions to gain national as well as regional power. It is widely believed to be supported by Hassan al-Turabi's PNC.

The National Redemption Front (NRF) was formed in Asmara, Eritrea, in June 2006 by the leaders of the Federal Democratic Alliance, the JEM and one faction of the SLM/A to pursue a military strategy against the government in Darfur in reaction to the perceived failure of the May 2006 Darfur Peace Agreement .

International actors

Regional states
Sudan's relationship with its former colonial ruler Egypt is dominated economically by the shared waters of the Nile and culturally by Egypt's perceived derogatory view of Sudanese 'Arabs' as their poor cousins; one Sudanese journalist has described the relationship as 'decades of chauvinism followed by decades of neglect.' In 1995 the Sudanese government was implicated in an attempt to assassinate Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, and tensions remain over the disputed area of Halaib and the NCP's erstwhile links with the Egyptian opposition Muslim Brotherhood. Nonetheless Egypt's mediation attempts have by and large been welcomed by Sudan, notably the Egyptian-Libyan Initiative that for a while rivalled the IGAD peace process, and the negotiations between the government and the DUP-led NDA that culminated in the Cairo Agreement in June 2005.

Sudan's relationship with Eritrea has also improved markedly since the mid-1990s when the Khartoum government was suspected of supporting the Eritrean Islamic Jihad insurgency. Eritrea responded by hosting a conference of Sudanese opposition leaders in June 1995, since when it has provided a base for the Sudanese opposition NDA. After a break of eleven years, diplomatic relations were restored in December 2005, assisted in part by the presence of the SPLM in the new Government of National Unity. A number of high-level delegations between the two countries followed during 2006, with the Eritreans courting Sudan as a counterweight to Ethiopia and a source of oil, and the Sudanese welcoming Eritrean efforts to mediate the conflicts in Darfur and the East. This latter mediation led to the signing of an agreement in the Eritrean capital Asmara in October 2006. In November 2006 the border was reopened, allowing for the formalization of trade links, especially between members of the Beni 'Amir tribe which straddles the border, but it is not yet clear whether many of the refugees who have settled in the meantime on either side of the border will return to their original homes.

Ethiopia and Sudan were frequently at odds during the Cold War when Ethiopia supported the SPLM/A, undoing much of the friendship cultivated by Emperor Haile Selassie, who was instrumental in securing peace between northern and southern Sudan in 1972. Relations have since been normalized, and thus far the relationship has withstood occasional border clashes, Sudan's improving relations with Eritrea and Sudanese attempts to mediate the Somali crisis.

Sudan and Uganda also once supported each others' armed opponents, but have become much more friendly since the end of the civil war brought an end to Khartoum's support of the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA). The Government of Southern Sudan's 2006 initiative to mediate between the LRA and the Government of Uganda has been welcomed in Khartoum and Kampala.

Kenya has dominated the IGAD processes for Sudan and Somalia, and has hosted significant numbers of refugees from civil wars in both these countries. Nevertheless - and despite a disputed border with Sudan - it has retained good relations with its northern neighbour.

Chad and Libya have had a role in the Darfur crisis. Chad's President Idriss Déby, although helped to power by the Sudanese government, is related to some of the armed actors in Darfur (notably Minnawi's SLM/A faction) and suspects Khartoum of supporting attempts by Chadian 'rebels' to overthrow him. Likewise Khartoum accuses Chad of sponsoring Darfurian insurgents, although diplomatic relations between the two countries were restored in August 2006 after a brief hiatus. Away from the political sphere many Darfurians blame increased competition for resources in Darfur on an influx of Chadian camel herders. Libyan attempts to mediate have been met with caution by Khartoum, not least because of a history of tension over differing practices of socialism and Islam and owing to Libyan support of the Justice and Equality Movement, but official relations remain cordial.

Other states
During the Cold War, Sudan was seen as an ally by the United States of America . Relations declined rapidly in the 1990s, especially when President Clinton's administration responded aggressively to Khartoum's hosting of Osama bin Laden. Garang's calls for a secular democracy increasingly resonated with Washington. With President Bush's administration's policy of engagement, the US became a force behind the rejuvenated peace process, notably after John Danforth was appointed as a Special Envoy for Peace in Sudan in 2001. He concluded the war unwinnable and recommended confidence-building measures by the two main protagonists known as the 'Danforth tests': a ceasefire in the Nuba Mountains; agreement on zones and times of tranquillity in which humanitarian interventions can be carried out; an independently verified end to attacks on civilians; and an independent commission on slavery and abduction.

While the White House and State Department have sought engagement with Khartoum in exchange for cooperation in the 'war on terror,' a number of anti-slavery or Christian lobby groups in the US continued to call for pressure on Khartoum. In 2002, Congress passed legislation approving aid for southern Sudan and requiring the administration to impose sanctions on the GoS if it failed to negotiate in good faith in the peace process. A watered down version of the Sudan Peace Act eventually came into law.

Despite the US-Sudan rapprochement has been soured with the NCP's disappointment by a perceived American failure to credit it with signing the CPA or cooperating in the 'war on terror,' as well as its criticism of the NCP's policies in Darfur and support of UNSCR 1706. The United Kingdom , despite having co-authored that resolution, has a degree of respect in its former colonies in the Arab world, and many Sudanese have familial and historical ties to the UK. It remains to be seen whether this relationship will weather the Darfur war, but for the time being Sudan remains the third largest recipient of bilateral British aid. The UK and the US were, together with Norway and Italy , known as the Friends of IGAD, and were committed supporters of the negotiations that led to the CPA.

China has become increasingly influential, becoming the largest investor in Sudan (with at least a 40 per cent stake in its oil industry) and the destination for over a third of its oil exports. It is also the largest supplier of armaments to the Government Sudan. Moreover, it has extended Sudan diplomatic protection, making concerted efforts to prevent UN action on Darfur until early 2005. China also opposed UN sanctions on Sudanese officials for their role in Darfur, and in late 2006 refused to support the proposed UN Security Council resolution on deploying UN troops to Darfur.

Multilateral actors

Sudan's size and location place it in a number of regions, and Sudan is simultaneously a member of the United Nations, the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States (ACP), the African Union (AU), the African Development Bank (AfDB), the Islamic Development Bank (IDB), the League of Arab States, the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), the Community of Sahel-Saharan States (CEN-SAD) and the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD).

Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD)
IGAD was formed in 1986 by the governments of Sudan, Eritrea, Djibouti, Somalia, Ethiopia, Kenya and Uganda as the Intergovernmental Authority on Drought and Development (IGADD), with a narrow mandate to improve regional co-operation on combating drought and desertification. At the instigation of Kenyan President Daniel arap Moi, IGADD facilitated negotiations between the GoS and the SPLM/A in 1994. Although these floundered over Khartoum's refusal to accept the Declaration of Principles, they encouraged IGADD to adopt a revised strategy, including extending its mandate to include broader matters of political and economic cooperation. In 1996 the organization was re-launched under its current name, with conflict prevention, management and resolution as one of its three pillars. In 1997 the GoS was persuaded to sign the Declaration of Principles and resume negotiations. A permanent secretariat for the Sudan Peace Process was established and President Moi's Special Envoy to Sudan, General Lazaro Sumbeiywo, was appointed mediator in 2001. Surviving the electoral demise of Moi, Sumbeiywo successfully harnessed revived international interest and pressure in support of the peace process that led to the CPA in January 2005.

League of Arab States
Similarly to other pan-governmental organizations, the League of Arab States tends to resist interfering in the domestic affairs of its member states. However, it is generally supportive of the Sudanese government and backed the its refusal of a UN peacekeeping force in Darfur, pledging US$150 million towards the AU mission in Darfur. Arab League member states have been slow to provide humanitarian aid for Darfur, concerned about being drawn into a political or cultural argument over the 'Arabness' of Sudan.

African Union (AU)
The AU, formerly the Organization for African Unity, has increasingly played a role in Sudan. The AU comprises all African countries except Morocco. Although, like the Arab League, it has shown reluctance to over commenting on member states' domestic arrangements, its leadership has at times been critical of the Sudanese government and, to a lesser extent, the other armed groups in Darfur. At its summit in Khartoum in January 2006 the AU voted to pass over Sudan's bid for chairmanship of the AU to the Republic of Congo, in deference to international governmental and non-governmental pressure over Darfur.

The AU has taken a lead in attempts to bring an end to the war in Darfur both through its mediation of peace talks in Abuja that led to the Darfur Peace Agreement (DPA) of May 2005 and through its ceasefire-monitoring mission. The AU mission to monitor ceasefire violations in Darfur has suffered from the outset from a lack of funding and personnel, a weak mandate and the failure of all sides to adhere to the ceasefire. Although the AU retains the political support of the government and armed factions, throughout much of 2006 it sought mechanisms to transfer the mandate to UN control, culminating in a compromise agreement reached with the GoS in November 2006 on introducing a hybrid AU-UN force.

United Nations (UN)
The UN Security Council established the UN Mission in Sudan (UNMIS) with its adoption of Security Council Resolution 1590 on 24 March 2005. UNMIS was initially established for a period of six months, tasked with supporting the implementation of the CPA. It was also tasked with facilitating the voluntary return of refugees and displaced persons, providing de-mining assistance and contributing towards international efforts to protect and promote human rights. The mandate authorizes UNMIS to have up to 10,000 military personnel and an appropriate civilian component, including up to 715 civilian police personnel.

UN Security Council Resolutions on Sudan

• 1556 (2004) calling on the GoS to disarm the janjaweed militia and urging the government and “dissident groups” to resume talks for a political settlement
• 1564 (2004) deploring ceasefire violations in Darfur and urging support for the AU mission
• 1574 (2004) endorsing the parties’ commitment to securing a peace agreement between northern and southern Sudan by 31 December 2004 and underlining the need for an inclusive approach to reconciliation and peacebuilding
• 1590 (2005) establishing the UN Mission in Sudan (UNMIS), deploying a 10,000-strong peacekeeping force in southern Sudan in support of the CPA
• 1591 (2005) deploring the situation in Darfur and calling for measures to be taken against individuals who “impede the peace process, constitute a threat to stability in Darfur and the region, commit violations of international humanitarian or human rights law or other atrocities, violate [resolution 1556] or are responsible for offensive military overflights”
• 1593 (2005) referring the Darfur crisis to the ICC
• 1663 (2006) requesting support for the AU mission and a plan to transfer to a UN operation in Darfur
• 1679 (2006) calling on all parties to sign the DPA, endorsing the AU’s Peace and Security Council’s decision in favour of a transition to a UN operation, and considering measures for those who violate or block implementation of the DPA
• 1706 (2006) inviting the consent of the Government of National Unity to increase UNMIS capacity by 17,300 military personnel and 3,300 civilian police personnel and to expand the UNMIS mandate to Darfur to monitor and verify implementation of the DPA and the N’Djamena Ceasefire Agreement

The GoS has repeatedly refused to accept an extension of the UNMIS mandate to include Darfur, although it agreed in principle on 16 November 2006 to accept a “predominantly African” hybrid peacekeeping force with AU forces under UN command and control.

Top | Sudan | Content