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'Southern Sudan' is a region of Sudan, comprising ten of that country's provinces. The Sudanese government agreed to give autonomy to the region in the Comprehensive Peace Agreement^[1] (also known as the Naivasha Agreement) signed on January 9, 2005 in Naivasha, Kenya with the SPLA/M, tentatively bringing an end to the Second Sudanese Civil War. Southern Sudan borders Ethiopia on 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.
Southern Sudan, also known as 'New Sudan', has nearly all of its administrative offices in Juba, the capital, while the largest city and commercial center is in Yei, towards the south.

Contents

Characteristics

Legal and administrative structure

Humanitarian situation

Modern history

Notes and references

External links

Characteristics

The Southern Sudanese predominantly practice Christianity (particularly Episcopal Church of the Sudan and the Roman Catholic Church) or traditional indigenous beliefs. The South also contains many ethnic groups and many more languages than used in the north. Without a proper census and given polygamy and large families, estimations of tribal proportions are near impossible of the 50 plus tribes in the South. However, it is widely agreed that the two largest tribes in the South are Nuer and Dinka. Other Nilotic tribes include the Shilluk. The Azande, Moru, and Jo Luo are 'Sudanic' tribes in the west, and the Acholi and Lotuhu live in the extreme south, extending into Uganda.
Dinkas have dominated the political arena especially with the late Dr. John Garang de Mabior and now with the current President of the South, General Salva Kiir Mayardit. Given the diversity of Southern Sudan, this has created tensions. In addition, the oil and other mineral wealth of the South lies on what is known as Nuerland which has a high concentration of Nuers including Unity and Upper Nile states but Nuers are underrepresented in the Government of Southern Sudan.
After the death of Garang, former rebel enemies, the SPLA and the SSDF (South South Defence Force), merged in January 2006 under the Juba Declaration. Ironically, the SSDF was founded by the current vice president of the South, Dr. Riek Machar who later defected to the SPLM/A in 1999. General Paulino Matip Nhial became the chief of staff (head) of the SSDF after Machar. Under the Juba Declaration, General Matip became the deputy commander in chief of the SPLA and his forces from the SSDF were integrated into the SPLA, swelling its ranks from 30,000 to 90,000 troops.
The distinctive Juba Arabic language is a widely used lingua franca in Southern Sudan. Yet, the language of education and government business is English. Juba Arabic language (arabi juba) is derived mostly from the Bari tribal native tongue. The Bari Tribe is considered the heart of Juba or Juba na Bari. Furthermore, two widely used African languages are Thuongjang and Nuer. Thuongjang (Dinka) is officially and culturally active in the states of North Barh al Ghazal, West Barh al Ghazal, Lakes, Warab, Jonglei, and autonomous independent Abiey. Nuer is active in Unity State and Upper Nile state.

Legal and administrative structure

Following the Naivasha Agreement which granted autonomy to Southern Sudan, the Interim Constitution of Southern Sudan^[2] was adopted in December 2005, leading to the creation of the Government of Southern Sudan.
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, although for the time being these are effectively part of the North.
Southern Sudan consists of the ten states, formerly composing the provinces of Equatoria (Central Equatoria, East Equatoria, and West Equatoria), Bahr el Ghazal (North Bahr al Ghazal, West Bahr al Ghazal, Lakes, and Warab), 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%). Before his death on 30 July 2005, longtime rebel leader John Garang was the President of Southern Sudan. Garang 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.

Humanitarian situation

By the time of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement of 2005, humanitrian 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.^[3]
In 2007, OCHA under the leadership of Eliane Duthoit started to phase out from Southern Sudan, as humanitarian needs gradually diminished, slowly but markedly leaving the place to recovery and development activities.^[4]

Modern history

It is estimated that the Southern region has a population of around 15 million (but given the lack of a recent census in decades, this estimate may be severely compromised) and a predominantly rural, subsistence economy. This region has been negatively affected by the First and Second Sudanese Civil Wars for all but 10 years since 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, while 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 abroad. 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 known as 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 5% to Sudapet of the Sudan government. 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 of Malaysia, 8% by Sudapet of the Sudan government, 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 originally 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-peace treaty deals with the SPLM have been revoked. One company called Jarch Management Group, Ltd. claims that the Government of Southern Sudan has since accepted its pre-CPA contracts. These contracts are backed by the deputy commander in chief of the SPLA, General Paulino Matip, who originally signed agreements in March 2004 as head of the South Sudan Defence Force (SSDF)and has publicly supported Jarch Management Group.
Under the CPA agreement signed in 2005, the wealth-sharing section states that all agreements signed prior to the CPA would hold and not be subject to review by the National Petroleum Commission (NPC), a commission set up by the CPA composed of both Northerners and Southerners headed by both President Beshir 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 from Khartoum. The CPA offers no right of continuation of the Khartoum concession agreements if the South votes in the 2011 referendum to secede. If the South secedes from Khartoum, it will become its own sovereign and as such does not need to honor agreements made with Khartoum. Those countries that stand to lose if the South secedes are China, Malaysia, India, France, and Kuwait given their large stakes in Khartoum concessions. With over 90% of the people in the South desiring independence from Khartoum, there is a high probability that many of the countries operating in the South now will change. Recently, China, Malaysia, India, and France have begun to court President Salva Kiir to protect their respective country's oil interests. However, much of the grassroot population want a new company which does not have a relationship with Khartoum especially given the past atrocities committed against the Southern people by Khartoum.

Notes and references

1. ''The Comprehensive Peace Agreement between The Government of The Republic of The Sudan and The Sudan People's Liberation Movement/Sudan People's Liberation Army'' (from reliefweb.int)
2. ''The Interim Constitution of Southern Sudan'' (PDF) (cushcommunity.org)
3. 2007 Work Plan of the United Nations and partners
4. Comments to IRIN by UN Spokesperson Maurizio Giuliano

External links

★ Site for Southern Independence

★ UN Mission in Sudan

★ 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

★ Southern Sudan Guide

★ The Juba Post