From: wolda002@umn.edu
Date: Fri Jan 15 2010 - 22:19:45 EST
The world must not let Sudan return to war
By Lazaro Sumbeiywo and John Danforth
Published: January 7 2010 19:59 | Last updated: January 7 2010 19:59
The world’s attention was rightly seized by the terrible conflict in
Sudan’s western region of Darfur, in which hundreds of thousands of
civilian lives were lost. It is often forgotten, however, that the tragedy
of Darfur came after Sudan’s north-south conflict, Africa’s longest
running civil war, in which more than 2m people were killed. On Saturday it
is five years since the historic Comprehensive Peace Agreement was signed
between north and south Sudan, yet there is a real threat of all-out war
returning to Sudan and still no permanent resolution to the Darfur
conflict.
We are writing as individuals privileged to experience the peace process at
close hand. We witnessed the long, frustrating and sometimes seemingly
impossible process of negotiating the CPA. We saw how the parties’ common
desire for peace gradually overcame enmity and distrust, and how the CPA,
signed on January 9 2005, established a government of national unity
between two former enemies.
The CPA spelled out how the government of national unity would deal with
delicate issues such as wealth- and power-sharing, border demarcation and
repositioning of troops over a six-year transitional period. It also
established a semi-autonomous government in the south and three
transitional areas. In two of those areas, Southern Kordofan and Blue Nile,
residents were promised a democratic process of popular consultations; in
Abyei, the third area, they secured the right to decide, through a
referendum, whether to join Southern Kordofan (part of north Sudan) or the
southern Sudanese state of Bahr El Ghazal. Central to the CPA was an
affirmation of the right of southern Sudanese to hold a referendum on
self-determination in 2011.
Since then, five years have lapsed and the parties stand on the brink of a
new chapter in Sudan’s history. National elections are scheduled for
April but crucial parts of the CPA have not been implemented. Unless
international support is dramatically increased to help north and south
agree on the foundations of their future, the elections and referendum may
throw Sudan back into civil war.
Deteriorating conditions in Sudan highlight the urgency of the situation.
Violence in south Sudan spiked in 2009 – in recent months more people
have been killed there from armed conflict than in Darfur. At the same
time, while violence has decreased in Darfur, the root causes of conflict
have not been addressed; and the situation in eastern Sudan and the
transitional areas of Abyei, Southern Kordofan and Blue Nile is also still
volatile.
The CPA was not able to solve every problem. But it was designed to pave
the way for elections and a southern referendum intended to be the
culmination of a six-year process to help Sudan emerge more democratic,
better governed and at peace. Time is running out to realise these
aspirations. Sudan is three months away from elections that are likely to
fail to live up to democratic standards and to exacerbate ongoing violence.
We are deeply concerned that the historic opportunity offered by the CPA
– and hailed by world leaders as a momentous victory for peace – will
be forgone unless the intensity of effort required to reach the agreement
in the first place is resuscitated. We implore concerned nations to support
the Sudanese parties in an attempt to find a permanent peace. Here are
three ways countries can help.
First, agree on a joint mechanism, including intensified mediation and
technical support, to help north and south Sudan implement the remainder of
the CPA, including the popular consultations in Southern Kordofan and Blue
Nile as well as the Abyei and southern referendums.
Second, press the government of national unity to make free and fair
elections possible.
Third, support increased measures for civilian protection by the UN Mission
in the Sudan and the United Nations-African Union peacekeeping force in
Darfur, including through contingency planning around potential flashpoints
for violence.
It is already too late to implement the full promise of the CPA. But there
is still some time to avoid a near certain disaster that would set the
people of Sudan back to the darkest days of the north-south war. We urge
world leaders to use every day that is left.
Retired Lt Gen Lazaro Sumbeiywo was chief mediator in the Sudan peace
talks. John Danforth was US special envoy to Sudan, 2001-2004, and is on
the board of Refugees International
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