USAID/OTI Sudan Hot Topics
April 2005
Timely Nuba Conference Contributes to Regional Unity
With the January signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) between the Sudanese Government and the Sudan Peoples Liberation Movement (SPLM), communities throughout southern Sudan have been looking forward to lasting peace and an improved quality of life. In early April, representatives from across the political and social spectrum in the Nuba Mountains gathered together for a five-day conference to examine issues related to the implementation of the CPA. According to many Sudan analysts, one of the critical tests of the CPA is its successful implementation in the transition areas of Southern Blue Nile and the Nuba Mountains. As a result of the Naivasha Protocols, both areas will be ruled jointly by the GoS and the SPLM in a complex power-sharing arrangement. Communities that had been previously divided across the north/south line will now live side by side under one state structure.
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| Singers Welcome Participants to Nuba Conference. |
A Sudanese local non-governmental organization, the Nuba Relief, Rehabilitation and Development (NRRDO), organized the Nuba conference with support from the OTI Sudan program. The successful gathering resulted in a series of recommendations and guiding principles on political structures, land tenure, respect for ethnic diversity and natural resource protection. Local authorities at the conference pledged to be inclusive and responsive to the needs to Nuba residents. While 150 people were formally invited to the conference, over 700 attended including participants from Europe and the Middle East. According to Acting Governor of Nuba, Ismail Jalab, the frank and open discussions contributed to creating a sense of unity among the Nuba and "a chance for vulnerable groups in society to express themselves".
For further information, please contact:
In Washington, D.C: Nhelly Saleh Ramirez, Sudan Program Manager, Tel: (202) 712-0795, nsaleh@usaid.gov
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