The Carter Center Calls for a Peaceful Resolution of the Stalemate in
the Blue Nile Popular Consultations
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Aug. 26, 2011
CONTACTS: Khartoum, Niklas Kabel +249 909 631 620; Atlanta, Deborah
Hakes +1 404 420 5124
The Carter Center Calls for a Peaceful Resolution of the Stalemate in
the Blue Nile Popular Consultations
The Carter Center calls on stakeholders in Blue Nile to use dialogue
and inclusive negotiations to solve the current standstill around the
popular consultations and to recommit to the spirit of the
Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) by reaching a peaceful settlement.
Citizens of Blue Nile have sought to promote peaceful dialogue across
party differences through co-organized events for peace and by
establishing a joint committee comprising the majority of parties in
the state, including both CPA signatories. On July 27, 2011, the joint
political committee signed a Declaration of Principles saying "no to
war" and calling for efforts to sustain peace in Blue Nile. The Carter
Center commends these local reconciliation efforts and urges the
political parties at the national level to follow this lead.
The popular consultation process in Blue Nile has stalled following
the formal extension of the timeline by the National Assembly on July
20, 2011. Due to differences over the modalities for extending the
process, Sudan Peoples Liberation Movement (SPLM) members of the Blue
Nile Parliamentary Commission for Popular Consultations have stopped
participating in the work of the commission. The implementation of any
additional substantive hearings and the report writing has ceased,
with important parts of the data analysis yet to be completed.
The main differences revolve around future security arrangements for
the state and the modalities for mediation between the Blue Nile state
legislative assembly and the Government of Sudan in the event that
changes to the CPA are deemed necessary. According to the Popular
Consultation Act, the Council of States is to be the formal mediation
mechanism. However, the secession of the 10 states in Southern Sudan
has significantly changed the composition of the council.
The Carter Center encourages the parties to the popular consultations
to deal with these issues in an inclusive manner, taking into account
the diversity and will of the people of Blue Nile as communicated
through the citizen hearings and the different political parties in
the state. The main objective should be to avoid a relapse into war
and its potential deadly consequences for civilians.
The Government of Sudan’s (GoS) declaration of a truce in Southern
Kordofan is a positive step, but to be successful a ceasefire will
need to be fully implemented and respected by both parties to the
conflict in order to promote peaceful negotiations and a permanent
cessation of hostilities. Although similar steps to the Blue Nile
popular consultations process are mandated in Southern Kordofan, the
main immediate focus of the adversaries should be to allow for
humanitarian assistance. Popular consultations should commence when
conditions allow in order for the people of the state to be heard and
taken into account in negotiations with the GoS about the future
status of Southern Kordofan in Sudan. The crisis in Southern Kordofan
should serve as a lesson of the potentially devastating consequences
if dialogue is abandoned and military means utilized.
Background on the Carter Center Mission
The Carter Center’s Democracy Program has been present in Sudan since
February 2008. This mission observed the April 2010 general and
presidential elections, the Southern Sudan referendum in January 2011,
and the Southern Kordofan legislative and gubernatorial elections in
May 2011. The Center was invited by the Blue Nile Popular Consultation
Commission to observe the process in the state and has deployed
long-term observers in Blue Nile since October 2010 and maintained a
team of analysts in Khartoum. This statement documents the data entry
and report writing processes, as well as the rescheduled hearings in
Kadalu and Bau constituencies. The Center released a report on March
21 covering the January to February citizen hearings, which is
available at www.cartercenter.org.
The Center’s observation mission is conducted in accordance with the
Declaration of Principles for International Election Observation and
Code of Conduct that was adopted at the United Nations in 2005 and has
been endorsed by 37 election observation groups. The Center assesses
the process against the CPA, the Popular Consultation Act of 2010, and
other international legal instruments to which Sudan has acceded.
####
The Carter Center was founded in 1982 by former U.S. President Jimmy
Carter and his wife, Rosalynn, in partnership with Emory University,
to advance peace and health worldwide. A not-for-profit,
nongovernmental organization, the Center has helped improve life for
people in more than 70 countries by resolving conflicts; advancing
democracy, human rights, and economic opportunity; preventing
diseases; improving mental health care; and teaching farmers to
increase crop production. The Carter Center began working in Sudan in
1986 on the Sasakawa-Global 2000 agricultural project, and for more
than 20 years, its health and peace programs have focused on improving
health and preventing and resolving conflicts in Sudan. Please visit
www.cartercenter.org to learn more about The Carter Center.
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