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Following a landmark independence referendum in Southern Sudan, Baroness Cox highlights the continuing plight of the emerging country.
January was a historic month for Sudan. A Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) brought closure to a civil war waged by the National Islamic Front regime in Khartoum against Southern Sudan and the 'marginalised areas' of the Nuba Mountains, Abyei and the Southern Blue Nile – a war in which two million died and four million were displaced. The CPA provisions included a referendum to be held in January 2011 for the people of Southern Sudan to decide between continuing unity or independence.
The results are unequivocal: a massive vote (over 95 per cent) for independence, associated with widespread jubilation and celebrations of 'freedom'.
But there is also a sober awareness of multiple challenges. They include the humanitarian crises which beset Southern Sudan, where, for example, only 17 per cent of the population has access to immunisation and where one in seven mothers die in pregnancy or childbirth. The crisis in provision of health care will be exacerbated by thousands of returnees fleeing from the north.
Another challenge is the plight of people in the 'marginalised areas' who are deeply frustrated. A referendum promised for oil-rich Abyei, is being delayed and the African Dinka leaders are considering a unilateral declaration of independence, which could trigger a military intervention by Khartoum, which has a massive build-up of forces in the area.
The people of the Nuba Mountains (renamed Southern Kordofan under the CPA and placed under Khartoum's administration, against the wishes of the majority) have been denied a referendum – only a consultation. They are profoundly anxious about their future. When I was there last year, the people claimed that, since the CPA, they have 'been worse off than during the war', as Khartoum has been manipulating aid and threatening to impose sharia law in Kadugli – a move strongly resisted by both Muslim and Christian communities. The leaders whom we met fear that, subjected to control from the North, they will lose their traditional African culture and religious freedom – and their only way out may be to start another war to fight for their freedom.
In addition to these potential flashpoints for renewed conflicts, there is fear of the possibility of destabilising conflicts within Southern Sudan. There are unverified reports that Khartoum has been sending arms to the notorious Lord's Resistance Army which has already been terrorising people in Southern Sudan, and that traditional tribal tensions may be used to ignite civil war.
Therefore, if the emerging new nation of Southern Sudan is to be enabled to survive and to flourish, it will need massive support from the international community. It is the hope of all who witnessed the horrendous suffering of the people there that such help will be forthcoming to bring the peace, freedom, democracy and prosperity for which they yearn.
Caroline Cox was nominated for a peerage by Margaret Thatcher, and became Baroness Cox of Queensbury in 1983. She served as deputy Speaker of the House of Lords from 1985 to 2005.
Chief executive and founder of the Humanitarian Aid Relief Trust (HART), Baroness Caroline Cox has made it her life mission to be a voice for people trapped behind closed borders.
Baroness Cox has received numerous awards over the past 20 years in recognition of her work in the international humanitarian and human rights arenas including the Wilberforce Award, which recognizes 'an individual who has made a difference in the face of formidable societal problems and injustices'.
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