缅北禁地

Meet Kara Johnston Molina, Peace and Development Advisor, Sudan.

About yourself:?I am Argentine, and Irish, and have worked in Sudan as the Peace and Development Advisor since November 2018. Prior thereto I worked in Iran and Lebanon and have been working in one or another capacity with the 缅北禁地since 1999.

My work?at the Peacebuilding Fund:?In the absence of the PBF Secretariat, I am the PBF focal point for Sudan. We have just completed a whole package of area-based peacebuilding programmes for Sudan. Prime Minister Hamdok submitted a request for Sudan’s eligibility in the margins of the General Assembly last year. The five projects that were funded by the Peacebuilding Fund last year focus on addressing the root causes of conflict in Darfur, in support of UNAMID’s transition, and working in areas where there are tensions between IDP and refugees and the local community. We did a whole series of consultations with local communities to identify these. An additional project, which was just approved, focuses on providing support through the PBF Secretariat to the peace process, and on working with the peace infrastructure throughout Sudan.

My work these days:?The last year has been a year of turmoil, but also a lot of hope, in Sudan. The revolution began in December 2018 and the regime fell four months later in April 2019. Thereafter there were several months of negotiations between the civilians and the military to establish a new transitional government. This was formed at the end of August last year when Prime Minister Hamdok was sworn in. We are now in middle of a 39-month political transition. Some of that time last year was rather termultous and the United Nations was evacuated over the summer for a few months.

Right now, COVID-19 aside, the situation is back to normal, with the international community trying to determine how to provide the transitional government with the political and financial support they need. Work is just beginning to plan for the establishment of an integrated political mission to support Sudan’s transition and the 缅北禁地Country Team programmes are being ramped up.

My routine in the time of the Corona Virus: Right now, the country is under lockdown as the potential impact of a COVID19 pandemic in Sudan could be catastrophic. For the past month or so, United Nations staff have been working from home and there is a strict curfew. We are now only allowed outside for a few hours a day. Peacebuilding programme implementation has been made?difficult by COVID19, not least as the country is under an almost total lockdown and we are trying to make progress on those aspects that we can do remotely.

I am working from home while taking care of my seven-year-old twin?boys, Manu and Rafael, who are also home-schooling. Not having family around, nor any of our normal support structure, is quite a challenge, as is the fact that the boys do not have any of their normal extra-activities. I am particularly grateful that I have an au pair, Sogol, who lives with us full time. Sogol was with us in my last posting in Iran, and lived with us for many years and is like family. We all live in an apartment in Khartoum, with a small park about a block away, although we cannot use that right now given movement restrictions.

All in all, given the situation, we are doing the best we can and trying to keep our spirits up. We all help with cooking and chores and try to come up with activities, board games, puzzles that we can do together in the evenings. We are trying to have predictable routines with schoolwork and our jobs, and are making sure to have delineated family time, with lots of calls with friends and family.

Finding Peace in these uncertain times:?I try not to think about the pandemic nor the uncertainties that surround it. I have always enjoyed reading and this is particularly the case now. If there were a silver lining to any of this, the nicest thing is being able to spend so much time with the children, as before the crisis I would hardly see them on weekdays. ????

The Peacebuilding Fund in Sudan?

In October 2019, following recent developments in Sudan and the establishment of a transitional civilian government and ongoing peace talks, the Secretary-General declared Sudan eligible to receive Fund support. In response, the Peacebuilding Fund approved five peacebuilding initiatives in Darfur supporting the transition of the African Union-United Nations Hybrid Operation in Darfur (UNAMID) and the subsequent handover to national institutions. The portfolio includes projects in each of the five states to be implemented by UNHCR, UNDP, UNICEF, IOM, UN-Habitat and FAO. It focuses on creating durable solutions to address forced displacement while also creating a conducive environment for return and integration of displaced populations; strengthening the rule of law; and enhancing local peacebuilding capacities and platforms for local conflict resolution with a strong youth and women’s participation dimension.