In this week’s Monitor we feature the reflections of ACCORD’s Founder and Executive Director, Dr. Vasu Gounden, on his recent experiences with mediating aspects of a peace agreement between the Government of Sudan and the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North, and what the implications are for mediation amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.
Turning to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Dr. Yvan Yenda Ilunga reflects on the formation of the new government. He argues that the DRC would need a comprehensive transformation of the political culture of power sharing and elite bargains before it can achieve a more peaceful and sustainable democratic culture.
Also in this issue, Dr. Andrew E. Yaw Tchie writes about South Sudan’s battle for democracy, and what it would take for the country to break free from the conflict dynamics that seem to keep it trapped in both an ongoing contest for control of national power as well as seemingly endless cycles of communal conflict.
Lastly, ACCORD’s Keenan Govender returns to the Sudan with a focus on the large number of displaced persons and refugees in Sudan and its immediate neighbourhood, and the special challenges this poses during the COVID-19 pandemic.