UN insists not taking sides in Sudan referendum

UNITED NATIONS-The United Nations insisted Tuesday it was up to the people of south Sudan to decide whether or not to opt for independence in an upcoming referendum, but said it would try to avert conflict in case of a yes vote.

UN spokesman Martin Nesirky sought to clarify remarks UN chief Ban Ki-moon made in an interview in Addis Ababa Saturday in which he said the world body "will work toward (Sudan's) national unity."

He said in a statement that Ban "made clear that the UNITED NATIONS would work to support the parties in their efforts to 'make unity attractive' as well as the exercise by the people of southern Sudan of their right to self-determination in a referendum."

"In this connection, he made clear that the United Nations would work to avoid any potential negative consequences (conflict) following next year's referendum," Nesirky added.

"Any suggestion that the United Nations may have taken a position that may prejudge the outcome of such a referendum is incorrect."

A referendum on independence for southern Sudan is to be held in January 2011, and Ban said in the interview it was important for the United Nations and the African Union (AU) to be prepared, whatever the result.

"Now whatever the outcome may be, the United Nations has a very important obligation, responsibility, together with the African Union that there needs to be a peace maintained," Ban said.

"The United Nations position is that we will work toward the national unity, basically, but that depends upon how the people of south Sudan will decide through this referendum," the UN chief said.

Ban's reference to national unity in the interview was meant to signal support for a clause of the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) between Sudan's Muslim north and largely Christian south that ended a 21-year civil war.

"We need to ensure that this referendum should be taken in accordance with the CPA," the UN boss said.

The agreement stated that "the successful implementation of the CPA shall provide a model for good governance in the Sudan that will help create a solid basis to preserve peace and make unity attractive."

It allowed the creation of a semi-autonomous government for the south and paved the way for April's presidential, parliamentary and regional elections, as well as next year's referendum.

Sudanese President Omar al-Beshir said last week that Khartoum would recognize the independence of southern Sudan if it chose to secede in the referendum.

North and south are due to draw the 2,100 kilometre (1,300 mile) border between the two regions this year -- a delicate issue because of the significant oil reserves in the area.

Ban said it was vital that the elections and the referendum were carried out in a credible, transparent way.

"There are many fundamentally important issues like border demarcation, sharing wealth, citizenship. All these fundamentally important issues should be resolved so that the referendum can be held and so that we can ensure that the situation will be peaceful," he said.

Source:AFP

Human rights groups slam state on refugee statements

Human rights organizations accused the government of lying to the public about the threat of infiltrators from Africa in an effort to prevent Sudanese and Eritrean asylum seekers from obtaining sanctuary in Israel. A coalition of the organizations held a press conference in Tel Aviv on Wednesday and presented a report, which they say exposes the government’s lies.

The report was prepared by nine groups in advance of a Knesset debate on the infiltration protection bill scheduled for Wednesday. The participating organizations – the Association for Civil Rights in Israel, Amnesty-Israel, ASAF, the Migrant Workers Hotline, the African Refugees Development Center, the Israel Religious Action Center, Kav LaOved and Physicians for Human Rights-Israel – warn that the new law means that Israel would be backing out of its obligations to the United Nations Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, incarcerating innocent refugees or deporting them to countries where their lives will be at risk and criminalizing those who aid asylum seekers.

The chief accusation in the report is that Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and other ministers speak in “two voices.”

The report states that while government officials repeatedly told the public that a vast majority of the asylum seekers are not refugees, but rather labor migrants, they have told the international community a different story.

The report also states that documents produced by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, which are based on official numbers that the government provides, show that as of 2009, 90.4 percent of the asylum seekers were indeed refugees from Sudan and Eritrea.

The report further claims that the government regularly inflates the security and demographic threat posed by asylum seekers. It quotes Netanyahu saying two weeks ago that “Israel will not allow its borders to be flooded by illegal foreign workers.”

The coalition also claims in their report that Netanyahu and other ministers are being disingenuous when alluding to both the numbers of asylum seekers waiting to cross over the border and the security risk they pose. The report states that the numbers of asylum seekers entering the country are actually in decline and that not a single asylum seeker has ever been charged with conducting terrorist activities.

Source:jpost.com/

Lost Boys vote in Chicago to inspire change in Sudan

Chicago’s Lost Boys of Sudan are setting an example for their families in Sudan by voting in Tuesday’s local primary election.
The refugees, exiled during the Sudanese civil war, never voted in their country. As the first in their families to cast a ballot, they are educating Sudanese about the importance of voting to create change. This at a time when Sudan is about to hold its first presidential election in more than two decades.

“The Lost Boys always take responsibility and are always looking for changes,” said Peter Magai Bul, 27, a Lost Boy and community activist. “They are doing this as citizens of the United States. You will see them voting in every election.”

Many Lost Boys, orphans named for their trek across Sudan to refugee camps in Ethiopia and Kenya during the war, voted early in the Chicago primaries, and those who didn’t said they would be at the polls Tuesday.

“It’s something that we don’t want to miss,” said Malual Awak, president of the Sudanese Community Association of Illinois.

Hundreds of Lost Boys from across the Midwest gathered at Truman College on Sunday to discuss Sudan’s upcoming election, call for an independent Southern Sudan and celebrate their birthdays. Because most of them do not have birth certificates, upon arrival in America they were assigned Jan. 31 as their collective birthday.

According to a 2008 survey by the United African Organization - a Chicago-based advocacy organizatoin - more than 90 percent of the estimated 30,000 naturalized African immigrants and refugees in metropolitan area vote in every election. They are interested in participating in every level,” said executive director Alie Kabba.

Voting is a way for refugees to become integrated into American society, and it also signifies freedom from the oppression many left behind in Africa, Kabba said.

“African refugees generally tend to come from countries with authoritarian regimes,” Kabba said. “One of the first things that they want to do here is demonstrate their yearning for a democratic society. It is a way for them to really call this place home.”

Voting has taken on an even greater significance for the Lost Boys, who hope to encourage their families to participate in Sudan’s first free presidential election in April after more than 20 years of single-party rule. “We vote to make a difference,” said Jacob Maker Dier, who became a citizen in 2007. “It’s setting an example (for our families). They have to show up.”

The Sudanese election was mandated by the 2005 peace agreement that ended the country’s 22-year civil war between the north and the south. The outcome of the election will have important significance. Some candidates are pushing for Southern Sudan’s secession, which will be decided in a referendum in 2011.

More than 150 Lost Boys have relocated to Chicago since 2001. They’ve made the city a stronghold for Sudanese activism, calling for a free and fair election in Sudan through organized events at universities and churches. Magai Bul, founder of Ayual Community Development Association, a non-profit dedicated to improving life in Southern Sudan, recently returned from a five-week trip to the country to educate residents about the voting process. Now he’s spreading his message through Facebook and Twitter.

“I’ve seen the consequences of when people are not allowed to participate,” Magai Bul said. “The consequence is war.”

Most of the population of Southern Sudan will not be allowed to vote, however. The Sudan government requires that voters present a passport, and many civilians lost any government identification they had during the war. The Lost Boys, who could theoretically vote in the Sudan election in absentia, also do not have Sudanese passports, but U.S. Ambassador to Sudan Akec Khoc said they will be able to apply for documentation at registration centers in Chicago in time to vote on the independence referendum next year.

Source:news.medill.northwestern.edu/