Sudan Risks War Without Free Referendum, Oil Deal, Groups Say
Northern and Southern Sudan risk a return to civil war unless a plebiscite on the south’s independence is free and the two sides agree on sharing oil revenue, 26 aid and human rights organizations said today.
Southern Sudan is scheduled to hold its referendum on independence in January, at the same time a parallel vote will be carried out in the disputed central region of Abyei to decide whether it will join north or south Sudan.
“Alarmingly, the current level of preparation is poor and the possibility of holding two free, fair and peaceful referenda in January 2011 is becoming more difficult as each day passes,” according to an e-mailed report that was signed by groups such as Global Witness, Refugees International, and the Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies.
North and south Sudan fought a 21-year conflict, in which as many as two million people died, that ended with a peace agreement in 2005. The accord was backed by organizations such as the African Union, the European Union, and the Arab League and countries including the U.S., the U.K. and Norway.
“It is imperative that the guarantors urgently redouble their efforts to ensure adequate preparations for the referenda, and help secure agreements on sensitive issues such as border demarcation and oil sharing,” according to the report.
Oil fields in Southern Sudan account for most of the nation’s output, which, at 490,000 barrels a day, is the third- biggest in sub-Saharan Africa, according to the BP Statistical Review of World Energy.
Under the peace agreement, the two sides currently split revenue from oil produced in the south, which is exported north through a pipeline ending in Port Sudan on the Red Sea.
“An agreement needs to be reached before the referenda on how Northern and Southern Sudan will cooperate to export oil when current arrangements end,” said the report. “Whether an equitable agreement can be reached is arguably the single biggest factor that affects the prospects for peace.”
- Database Search
- Unpaid Debt A comprehensive overview of the role of the Lundin Consortium in the oil war. ECOS calls upon the Swedish, Austrian and Malaysian governments to investigate whether, as a matter of international law, Lundin, OMV and Petronas 'were complicit in the commission of war crimes and crimes against humanity by others during the period 1997-2003.’ In response, the Swedish Public Prosecutor for International crimes opened a criminal investigation into ‘links between Sweden and the reported crimes’.
- In Depth For more specific information about the Lundin court case please visit the Unpaid Debt dossier.
