14 October 2010

U.N. Trip Underscored Need for Timely, Credible Sudan Referendums

During her visit, Ambassador Rice, center, met with Southern Sudanese police who are being trained to provide security for the January 9, 2011, referendum.

By Stephen Kaufman
Staff Writer

Washington — Following a weeklong visit to Southern Sudan, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice reported that ahead of the January 9, 2011, referendum on the region’s independence, its people are hopeful for the vote, but also concerned that it may not occur on time and that violence could resume between Northern Sudan and Southern Sudan.

In an October 14 statement at the United Nations, Rice underscored the need for the referendums in both Southern Sudan and Abyei to be held on time and to be credible, and for their results to be respected, as agreed on by all sides in the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA), which ended Sudan’s civil war.

“The international community and the [U.N.] Security Council must remain steadfast in support of full implementation of the CPA, including on-time, peaceful referenda, and for the results of the referenda to be respected by all parties,” Rice said.

Rice said she and other representatives of the Security Council went to Southern Sudan to emphasize that this is the council’s unified position on the January 2010 voting.

In addition, “we sought to assess the status of preparations for the referenda, as well as UNMIS’ performance in providing assistance for CPA implementation,” she said. UNMIS stands for the United Nations Mission in Sudan.

“We delivered the message that we expect UNMIS to have full and unhindered access, and emphasized the importance of addressing the humanitarian and development challenges facing Southern Sudan, regardless of the outcome of the referenda,” Rice said.

The Security Council delegation met with Sudanese First Vice President Salva Kiir and other officials, as well as civil society and women leaders, she said.

They also went to a police training center that is preparing a professional civilian police force to provide security for Southern Sudan’s referendum.

“These police … demonstrated procedures for high-risk arrests, VIP protection and crowd control,” Rice said. “Impressively, the South started this center from scratch, which demonstrated its commitment to institution building. There are now 5,400 new recruits, more than 300 of whom are women, with 6,000 more scheduled to begin basic training in November,” she reported.

Among Southern Sudanese, “the message we repeatedly heard is that they are strongly committed to the January 9 referenda date, and they are yet concerned that this expectation may not be met. And there is some fear of a resumption of violent conflict,” Rice said.

Rice also reported hearing concerns among Southerners over delays in preparing for the referendum in the Abyei region.

State Department Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs Philip Crowley told reporters October 14 that talks between Northern and Southern Sudanese on the Abyei vote that broke off earlier in the day in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, will resume October 27.

Crowley said “the parties must make decisions on key issues at the next round of talks,” the most important of which is determining who will be permitted to vote in the referendum.

“The parties must reach consensus … if they're going to meet their commitment for the referendum to take place as scheduled,” he said, adding that despite the challenge, the parties have committed to hold both referendums on January 9, 2011.

The United States “continue[s] to believe that the parties should come together and fulfill their commitment,” Crowley said.

(This is a product of the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://www.america.gov)