Secretary-General and Sudanese Vice-President discuss upcoming referenda

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and the First Vice-President of Sudan Salva Kiir today held discussions on the upcoming referenda in the African country on the self-determination of southern Sudan and the central region of Abyei.

The Secretary-General expressed his concern that the Abyei Referendum Commission is still not established, according to information released by Mr. Ban’s spokesperson.

The two leaders also talked about the importance of holding the referenda on time and without any violence or acts of intimidation.

Mr. Ban expressed the international community’s determination to respect the outcome of the vote, and underscored the need for all concerned to adhere strictly to the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA), which ended a two-decade north-south civil war in Sudan.

The Secretary-General and Mr. Kiir, who is also President of the semi-autonomous Government of Southern Sudan, reviewed the situation in the conflict-affected Darfur region of western Sudan and the need for an inclusive peace process to end that conflict.

Inhabitants of the south will vote on 9 January next year on whether to secede from Sudan or remain united with the rest of the country. On the same day, residents of Abyei, located in the centre of the country, will vote separately on whether to retain Abyei’s special administrative status in the north or become part of Bahr el-Ghazal state in the south.

Mr. Ban yesterday announced the appointment of three members of a UN panel tasked with monitoring the referenda.

The former Tanzanian president Benjamin Mkapa will head the panel, while former Portuguese foreign minister Antonio Monteiro and former Nepalese election commission chairman Bhojraj Pokharel will serve as the other two members.

The referenda will be the final phase in the implementation of the CPA.