Intergovernmental Authority on development (IGAD): http://igad.int/

History

The Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) in Eastern Africa was created in 1996 to supersede the Intergovernmental Authority on Drought and Development (IGADD) which was founded in 1986. The recurring and severe droughts and other natural disasters between 1974 and 1984 caused widespread famine, ecological degradation and economic hardship in the Eastern Africa region. Although individual countries made substantial efforts to cope with the situation and received generous support from the international community, the magnitude and extent of the problem argued strongly for a regional approach to supplement national efforts.

In 1983 and 1984, six countries in the Horn of Africa - Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, Sudan and Uganda - took action through the United Nations to establish an intergovernmental body for development and drought control in their region. The Assembly of Heads of State and Government met in Djibouti in January 1986 to sign the Agreement which officially launched IGADD with Headquarters in Djibouti. The State of Eritrea became the seventh member after attaining independence in 1993.

In April 1995 in Addis Ababa, the Assembly of Heads of State and Government made a Declaration to revitalise IGADD and expand cooperation among member states. On 21 March 1996 in Nairobi the Assembly of Heads of State and Government signed 'Letter of Instrument to Amend the IGADD Charter / Agreement" establishing the revitalised IGAD with a new name " The Intergovernmental Authority on Development". The Revitalised IGAD, with expanded areas of regional cooperation and a new organisational structure, was launched by the IGAD Assembly of Heads of State and Government on 25 November 1996 in Djibouti, the Republic of Djibouti.

IGAD Partners Forum (IPF)

With the revitalization of IGAD in 1996, the presence of Partners in Development to IGAD steadily increased. In January 1997 IGAD found it necessary to establish formal relationships with the "Friends of IGAD", a group of partners who were working closely with the Secretariat. The IGAD Partners Forum (IPF) was therefore created with three levels of partnership organs at ministerial, ambassadorial and technical level.

The 1st Joint Ministerial Meeting of IPF, which was held in Rome, Italy in January 1998, decided to establish the Project Implementation Committee with its own Terms of References. The Committee started it's function since November 1998.

The IGAD Chairman is the Chairman of IPF and the Government of Italy was appointed by partners to be the first Co-Chairman.

To forge ahead with Partners in Development, there is need to have a well-established co-operation and co-ordination system in order to enhance and to facilitate the development process in the IGAD region.

The IPF is comprised of the following members under the present co-chairmanship of the Italian Government:

Austria
Belgium
Canada
Denmark
France
Greece
Germany
Ireland
Italy
Japan
Netherlands
Norway
Sweden
Switzerland
United Kingdom
United States of America
European Commission
International Organization for Migration
United Nations Development Programme
World Bank

IGAD's role in CPA

The peace process was encouraged by the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), as well as IGAD-Partners, a consortium of donor countries.

 

African Union (AU): http://www.africa-union.org/

The African Union Mission in Sudan (AMIS) was an African Union (AU) peacekeeping force operating primarily in the country's western region of Darfur with the aim of performing peacekeeping operations related to the Darfur conflict. Originally founded in 2004, with a force of 150 troops, by mid-2005, its numbers were increased to about 7,000.Under United Nations Securirt Counil Resolution 1564 AMIS was to "closely and continuously liaise and coordinate ... at all levels" its work with the United Mission in Sudan (UNMIS). AMIS was the only external military force in Sudan's Darfur region unti UNAMID was established. It was not able to effectively contain the violence in Darfur. A more sizable, better equipped UN peacekeeping force was originally proposed for September 2006, but due to Sudanese government opposition, it was not implemented at that time. AMIS' mandate was extended repeatedly throughout 2006, while the situation in Darfur continued to escalate, until AMIS was finally replaced by UNAMID on December 31, 2007.

 

The Troika

The United States of America (USA), Britain and Norway form a troika of nations closely following Sudan-related issues, including the implementation of the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement that ended the war between north and south Sudan.

 

Nile Basin Initiative: http://www.nilebasin.org/

Dryland Coordination Group: http://www.drylands-group.org/

The Drylands Coordination Group (DCG) is a network for capacity building through exchange of practical experience and appropriate knowledge on food security in the drylands of Africa. The DCG networks in Eritrea, Ethiopia, Mali, and Sudan consist of NGOs as well as research institutions and governmental structures. DCG Norway administers funds from Norad to research projects and from the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs to information and policy work linked to the UNCCD and dryland challenges.