Briefing: Constitutional Rights Protection Project, November 2022 – April 2023
Briefing: Constitutional Rights Protection Project, November 2022 – April 2023
The Public Policy Institute – Sudan, in collaboration with local partners, launched the initiative Future of Policies: Evidence-Based Policymaking to promote constitutional rights and foster sustainable stability and a prosperous future for youth and the economy. The initiative focused on raising awareness among youth leaders, political figures, and executive officials, encouraging them to adopt reform-driven approaches within state institutions aligned with local community priorities.
Since 1956, Sudan has operated in a manner reminiscent of the Funj Kingdom of the 16th century, exhibiting a stark lag in meeting the requirements of a modern civil state. The country has consistently lacked a mature vision for addressing issues of war, peace, and sustainable development.
The project aimed to break away from the fascist-theocratic national security state and transition toward a modern civil state by adopting evidence-based frameworks and policies. This participatory approach placed local community priorities at the core of reforms, ensuring these communities were the direct beneficiaries of change.
As part of this effort, the program introduced the Future of Policies Initiative, which opened the public sphere to diverse groups across Sudan. It promoted political awareness, educated citizens on democracy and its various forms, and engaged grassroots civil society groups to emphasize the importance of establishing free and fair elections.
The program’s activities were disrupted by the April 15, 2023 war, halting plans to create a bibliography of public frameworks and policies in Sudan and a broad civilian monitoring mechanism for overseeing executive operations. Additionally, the conflict prevented the launch of the Khartoum Summit, envisioned as a platform for dialogue between civil society, the private sector, and government institutions to advocate for the constitutional rights of all Sudanese citizens.
Despite these challenges, the program’s initiatives provided a beacon of hope in the public sphere. Open forums, memoranda, and workshops offered inspirational opportunities to exchange ideas on adopting a rights-based approach to addressing the legacy of marginalization and human rights violations, paving the way for a future characterized by political and economic justice.
A former minister from the transitional government remarked:
“We were misled by security reports, leading to mistakes that broke the backbone of the 2019–2021 transitional experience.”
The reliance of transitional government leaders on recommendations from ideologically driven security agencies resulted in disastrous executive performance, weakened the coalition supporting the transition, and paved the way for the return of the **June 30, 1989 regime**.
The program shed light on several critical lessons, including the fragility of the deep state’s alliances (the national security state) and its hostility toward reforms that center citizens in political processes. Furthermore, it highlighted the vast opportunities and benefits of well-planned reforms.
The strategic partnership between the Institute and civil and political society organizations significantly facilitated the program’s activities. Generous support from local and international partners played a pivotal role in ensuring the program’s operational stability.
This project was part of the Institute’s broader mission to create an effective system for evidence-based decision-making. It emphasized macroeconomic, sectoral, and cross-sectoral policies at all governance levels, encouraging serious and objective efforts underpinned by good faith to align policies with the priorities of youth and the broader community.
Operations Manager
Public Policy Institute – Sudan
Date: April 27, 2023