Southern Sudan is a region of Sudan, comprising ten of that country's states. The Sudanese government agreed to give autonomy to the region in the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) ^[1] signed on January 9, 2005 in Naivasha, Kenya, with the SPLA/M, tentatively bringing an end to the Second Sudanese Civil War 1983-2005. A referendum is scheduled for 2011 on whether to remain in the greater Sudan or to become an independent nation. Southern Sudan borders Ethiopia to the east, Kenya, Uganda, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the south, and the Central African Republic to the west. To the north lies the predominantly Arab and Muslim region directly under the control of the central government, with its capital at Khartoum. It includes the vast swamp region of the Sudd formed by the White Nile, here called the Bahr el Jebel.

Southern Sudan, also known as New Sudan, has nearly all of its administrative offices in Juba, the capital, and the city with the largest population.

Characteristics

Southern Sudanese predominantly practice traditional indigenous beliefs and Christianity ^[2], particularly the Episcopal Church of the Sudan and the Roman Catholic Church. The South also contains many more ethnic groups and languages than are found in the North. Without a proper census, and given polygamy and large families, estimates of the relative proportions of the hundred ethnic groups in the South is difficult. However, it is widely agreed that the largest ethnic group in the South is Dinka, followed by Nuer. Other Nilotic peoples include the Bari and Shilluk.

The oil and other mineral wealth of the South lies on what is known as Nuerland, including Unity and Upper Nile states, which has a high concentration of Nuers.

After the death of John Garang, the Sudanese People's Liberation Army (SPLA) and the South Sudan Defence Force (SSDF), overcame their mutual antagonism and merged in January 2006 under the Juba Declaration^[3]. The SSDF was founded by the current vice president of the South, Dr. Riek Machar, who defected back to the SPLA/M in 2002, leaving General Paulino Matip Nhial as the chief of staff (head) of the SSDF. Under the Juba Declaration, General Matip became the deputy commander-in-chief of the SPLA, and his SSDF forces were integrated into the SPLA, swelling its ranks from 30,000 to an estimated 130,000 troops.

Language

Southern Sudan has many tribal groups and many used languages than that used in the north ^[4]. The language of education and government business is English ,which was adopted as the official language for Southern Sudan in 1928^[5] and was acknowledged as the principal language in southern Sudan in the late 1980s ^[6] , although the distinctive Juba Arabic language arabi juba , developed in the 19th century, among descendants of Sudanese soldiers, derived mostly from the Bari tribal native tongue is a widely used lingua franca in Southern Sudan. However, English is used as lingua franca in areas where Juba pidgin Arabic is not used.^[7] Additionally, two widely used African languages are Thuongjang (3,000,000 speakera) ^[7] and Thok Naath (1,400,000 speakers)^[7] . Nuer is widely spoken in Unity State, Jonglei State and Upper Nile State.

Legal and administrative structure

Abyei, Nuba Mountains, and Blue Nile are to hold a referendum in 2011 on whether to join South Sudan.

Following the Naivasha Agreement which granted autonomy to Southern Sudan, the Interim Constitution of Southern Sudan^[8] was adopted in December 2005, leading to the creation of the Government of Southern Sudan and a Southern Sudan Legislative Assembly.

The relationship between autonomous Southern Sudan and the neighbouring areas of Blue Nile State, Nuba Mountains/Southern Kurdufan, and Abyei has yet to be definitively determined.

Southern Sudan consists of the ten states which formerly composed the provinces of Equatoria (Central Equatoria, Eastern Equatoria, and Western Equatoria), Bahr el Ghazal (Northern Bahr al Ghazal, Western Bahr el Ghazal, Lakes, and Warrap), and Upper Nile (Jonglei, Unity, and Upper Nile).

Pending elections, seats in both the Southern Sudan Assembly and the Government of the Southern Sudan are to be divided in a fixed proportion between the SPLM (70%), the NCP (the former NIF) (15%), and "other Southern political forces" (15%). From the time of the Naivasha Agreement until his death on 30 July 2005, longtime rebel leader John Garang was the President of Southern Sudan. He was succeeded by Salva Kiir Mayardit who was sworn in as first vice president of Sudan on 11 August 2005.

A referendum on the independence of the Southern Sudan is scheduled for January 2011 ^[9].

Humanitarian situation

By the time of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement of 2005, humanitarian needs in Southern Sudan were significant. The amount of destruction left by over 20 years of war was massive.

However, humanitarian organizations under the leadership of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) managed to ensure sufficient funding to bring relief to the local populations. Along with recovery and development aid, humanitarian projects were included in the 2007 Work Plan of the United Nations and partners.^[10]

In 2007, OCHA (under the leadership of Eliane Duthoit) started to phase out of Southern Sudan, as humanitarian needs gradually diminished, slowly but markedly turning over control to the recovery and development activities of NGOs and community-based organisations.^[11]

Modern history

It is estimated that the Southern region has a population of around 8 million, but given the lack of a census in several decades, this estimate may be severely compromised. The economy is predominantly rural and subsistence farming. This region has been negatively affected by the First and Second Sudanese Civil Wars for all but 10 years since Sudanese independence in 1956, resulting in serious neglect, lack of infrastructure development, and major destruction and displacement. More than 2 million people have died, and more than 4 million are internally displaced or have become refugees as a result of the civil war and war-related impacts . The region has been struck by occasional famine. A 1998 famine killed hundreds of thousands, and a food emergency was declared in mid-2005 .

In recent years, a significant amount of foreign-based oil drilling has begun in Southern Sudan, raising the land's geopolitical profile. Khartoum has broken much of the Sudan into blocks with about 85% of the oil coming from the South. Blocks 1, 2, and 4 are controlled by the largest overseas consortium, the Greater Nile Petroleum Operating Company (GNPOC). GNPOC is composed of the following players: CNPC, the People's Republic of China, with a 40% stake, Petronas (Malaysia), with 30%, ONGC India, with 25%, and Sudapet of the central Sudan government with 5%.

The other producing blocks in the South are blocks 3 and 7 in Eastern Upper Nile. These blocks are controlled by Petrodar which is 41% owned by CNPC of China, 40% by Petronas, 8% by Sudapet, 5% by Gulf Petroleum and 5% by Al Thani .

Another major block in the South, called Block B by Khartoum, is claimed by several players. Total of France was awarded the concession for the 90,000 square kilometre block in the 1980s but has since done limited work invoking "force majeure". Various elements of the SPLM handed out the block or parts thereof to other parties. Several of these pre-Naivasha deals were revoked when the SPLM came to power. One company, Jarch Management Group, Ltd., claims that the Government of Southern Sudan has since accepted its pre-CPA contracts . These contracts are backed by General Paulino Matip, the deputy commander-in-chief of the SPLA, who originally signed agreements in March 2004 as head of the SSDF and has publicly supported Jarch Management Group .

The wealth-sharing section of the CPA states that all agreements signed prior to the CPA would hold; they would not be subject to review by the National Petroleum Commission (NPC), a commission set up by the CPA and composed of both Northerners and Southerners and co-chaired by both President al-Bashir of the North and President Kiir of the South. However, the CPA does not specify who could sign those pre-CPA agreements. Both Khartoum and the SPLM claim the ability to sign agreements prior under the right of "self-determination" awarded to Southerners . A major issue being discussed amongst those that hold concessions from Khartoum is, what happens if the South secedes.

The CPA offers no right of continuation of the Khartoum concession agreements if the South votes to secede. Independence for South Sudan means that, as a sovereign state, it does not need to honor agreements made with Khartoum . Those countries that stand to lose the most upon secession are China, Malaysia, India, France, and Kuwait, given their large stakes in Khartoum concessions . With more than 90% of the people in the South desiring independence from Khartoum , there is a high probability that many of the countries now operating in the South will change. Recently, China, Malaysia, India, and France have begun to court President Salva Kiir to protect their respective country's oil interests . British companies have also been courting the Southern Sudanese government with regard to mining exploration, specializing in cobalt and copper . However, much of the population wants a new company which does not have a relationship with Khartoum, especially given the atrocities committed against the Southern people by the central government .

Notes and references

Literature

• Melha Rout Biel: Southern Sudan after the Comprehensive Peace Agreement. Netzbandt Verlag, Jena 2007, ISBN 978-3-937884-01-1

External links

• Government of Southern Sudan
• Political information site
• Site for Southern Independence
• UN Mission in Sudan
• North/South Sudan Abyei and News and 11 July 2008 and UN SRSG for Sudan Praises Abyei Progress of 11 September 2008
• Comprehensive Peace Agreement
• Resolving the Boundary Dispute in Sudan's Abyei Region U.S. Institute of Peace Briefing, October 2005
• Introduction to the Laws of New Sudan
• The Juba Post
• The Nuer Field Notes - an online collection of linguistic field notes recorded by Eleanor Vandevort, who was a missionary in the South Sudan between 1949 and 1963. The site also includes Ms. Vandevort's book A Leopard Tamed and pictures taken in southern Sudan.
• John Dau Sudan Foundation One of the storied "Lost Boys of Sudan," John Dau is transforming healthcare in Southern Sudan through the building and sustaining of healthcare clinics.

See also

• Lost Boys of Sudan
• Sudan
• Duk County
• John Dau
• Nyuol Tong

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