Members of UN panel to monitor Sudanese referenda begin first visit

A three-member United Nations panel tasked with monitoring the upcoming referenda on self-determination in Sudan has begun its first visit to the country.

The panel arrived in the capital, Khartoum, on Sunday for the week-long visit, which will also include stops in Juba, the capital of Southern Sudan, and Abyei.

On 9 January the inhabitants of Southern Sudan will vote on whether to secede from the rest of the country, while the residents of the central area of Abyei will vote on whether to be part of the north or the south.

The referenda will be the final phase in the implementation of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA), which was signed in 2005 to end two decades of warfare between the northern-based Government and the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A) in the south.

“I am looking forward to this visit and the opportunity to meet with all the people who can help ensure that these referenda in Southern Sudan and the Abyei area are successful,” said Benjamin Mkapa, former President of Tanzania and chair of the panel.

“There are many challenges ahead of us in the next few months but we are determined to do our utmost to help the people of Sudan.”

While in Sudan, the panel – which also includes António Monteiro, former Minister of Foreign Affairs of Portugal, and Bhojraj Pokharel, former Chairman of the Election Commission of Nepal – will hold talks with senior officials from the national Government, the Government of Southern Sudan, the Southern Sudan Referendum Commission, the UN, the diplomatic corps, observer groups and civil society representatives.

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon formed the panel last month after a request from the parties to the CPA, who sought a UN monitoring body to help enhance the credibility of the Sudanese-led referenda and ensure the acceptance of their result by their constituencies and the international community.

The panel will make periodic visits to Sudan in the lead-up to and during the referenda and report back to the Secretary-General on their findings.

On Saturday a visiting delegation from the UN Security Council told reporters in Khartoum that it is confident that the referenda can be held on time, adding that it received a commitment from the parties to tackle outstanding tasks – including related to technical and funding issues – as well as more strategic concerns such as citizenship and border demarcation.

“The timetable for the discussion and resolution of these issues and the referendum is extremely tight,” noted Council member and Ambassador of the United Kingdom Mark Lyall Grant.

“But with strong political will on both sides and the manifestation of that political will by implementation and strong support from the international community, we believe that that timetable is doable,” he added.