PrintEVP Phase I: North/South Workshops
Preventing Electoral Violence in Sudan
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Dispatches from Dilling, Sudan
May 2009 | In the Field
More people have died in tribal violence in southern Sudan in recent months than in western Darfur. Creating a peaceful environment before the national elections in April 2010 and a referendum on southern independence in 2011 will be a challenge for Sudanese authorities and the international community. USIP has been actively working on the ground help create a peaceful setting with its training programs on non-violent conflict resolution and election workshops.
Electoral Violence Prevention Programs in Khartoum and Dilling, Sudan
April 2009 | In the Field
ETC/I Senior Program Officers Jacqueline Wilson and Linda Bishai and Center for Mediation and Conflict Resolution Program Officer Jon Temin conducted a short-form electoral violence prevention consultation in Khartoum before traveling to Dilling for an electoral violence prevention workshop with 60 participants.
Electoral Violence Prevention Programs in southern Sudan
March 2009 | In the Field
In March and April 2009, the ETC-I/CAP team brought the electoral violence prevention (EVP) program to southern Sudan. In Juba, the participants included members of the South Sudan parliament, leaders of youth and women's organizations, journalists and political party representatives. In Yei, participants included local clergy, civil society organizers, police and security officials, and even a local chief.
USIP conducted a series of electoral violence prevention workshops throughout north and south Sudan in 2009 with participants who represent key institutions that play a critical role in electoral processes. These workshops combined case studies of electoral violence with capacity building in conflict resolution and citizenship skills.
USIP’s Center for Conflict Analysis and Prevention (CAP) and Education and Training Center, International (ETC-I) conducted 10 workshops throughout Sudan in 2009, training more than 300 Sudanese citizens. Workshops took place in Khartoum (January and June 2009), Juba (April 2009), Yei (April 2009), Dilling (May 2009), El Fula (November 2009) and El Fasher (November 2009).
Workshop participants represent the institutions that often play crucial roles in a country’s electoral process: civil society, political party representatives, police and security forces, youth, media, and academic and legal professionals.
The electoral violence prevention (EVP) workshop content includes:
- Case studies of elections in Africa
- Citizenship education
- Conflict resolution skills training
The aim is to promote an understanding of Sudan’s upcoming elections as one small part of a long transition to a democratic system, and to underscore the importance of communication, negotiation, and pluralistic decision-making in preventing and managing violent conflict.
The case studies are designed to provide both positive and negative examples of electoral violence prevention from other elections in Africa, enabling participants to identify opportunities to prevent violence that were seized and those that were missed. The EVP workshops included case studies of Egypt, Ghana, Kenya, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).