SUDAN: United States Urges Quick Implementation of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement

Two years after the September 20, 2005 formation of Sudan's Government of National Unity, the United States calls on all parties to the Comprehensive Peace Agreement to implement as quickly as possible all elements of the accord that ended 21-years of civil war between the North and the South. Despite impressive progress, including the return of about 1.2 million displaced people/refugees in Southern Sudan and the creation of many commissions mandated by the Agreement, the U.S. is concerned about the slow pace of the Agreement's implementation.

Challenges facing the Agreement include: the failure of the two sides to redeploy armed forces on schedule, the continued presence of troops in the country's oil areas, delays in funding and administering the national census in advance of the general elections, and failure to implement the protocol on the Abyei region.