Max Planck Foundation kicks off new EU-funded project supporting an inclusive constitutional reform in the Republic of the Sudan

Sudan

Two-day preparatory meeting for target group of Sudanese stakeholders conducted in Khartoum marking the start of the new project

The Max Planck Foundation launched its new project funded by the European Union entitled ‘Support to Inclusive Constitutional Reform in Sudan’ with a preparatory meeting held in Khartoum, Sudan on 1- 2 May 2018.

During the two-days the Foundation convened with about 30 participants intended to form the core group of direct beneficiaries in the project’s activities representing civil society (primarily journalists and editors from the Sudanese media field) and various political parties (including the governmental and major opposition parties). In addition, on the first day, the Foundation had also invited the heads of the most representative political parties in Sudan. The preparatory meeting allowed the Foundation to introduce the participants to the project’s aim and schedule envisaged throughout the 18-months of the project’s implementation.

Nadia Lichtenberger (Head of Political, Press and Communication Section at the European Delegation to Sudan) opened the sessions with a welcome note outlining the EU’s intention to support the Republic of the Sudan in its way towards a stable constitutional order. Professor Dr Rüdiger Wolfrum, the Managing Director of the Foundation and Head of the Sudan Projects, also personally welcomed the participants. He emphasised the project’s objective, which is especially aimed at enriching the understanding of civil society on the constitutional issues under discussion in the country by equipping them with relevant knowledge in the area of comparative constitutional law. A specific focus is thereby also laid on the inclusion of groups from the various Sudanese regions, such as Darfur, Blue Nile and South Kordofan.

On the second day, the participants continued to receive their first substantive training with two expert presentations on constitution making processes held by Professor Wolfrum as well as by Professor Charles Fombad, an international legal expert from the University of Pretoria, South Africa. These as well as the discussions throughout the two days served as groundwork for the Foundation’s subsequent workshops and seminars in which the participants will receive technical capacity-building trainings and expertise on comparative constitutional law. The first workshop is to be implemented at the beginning of September 2018.