Sudan Peace Process
 

"South Sudan is the area of Sudan below the 13th parallel and comprises of Bahr-el-Ghazel, Equatoria and Upper Nile regions which is about 400,000 square miles or twice the size of the state of Texas in the United States. South Sudan has a kaleidoscopic population of more than 10 million of which major ethnic groups are the Dinka, the Nuer, the Azande, the Bari speaking, the Otuho- speaking, the Toposa-speaking, Luo-speaking, the Muru-speaking and the Maban-speaking (Chai). South Sudan is bordered by the so called Arab and Muslim North Sudan, Chad and Central Africa on the West, Zaire and Uganda on the South, and Kenya and Ethiopia on the East. Although South Sudan is a heterogeneous political culture, sociologically, historically, culturally, and politically constitutes a nation-state (wiec naath)." Right of Self Determination: A Legal and Political Right for South Sudan Professor David de Chand, , 6 August 1995

"Although the policy debate on Sudan encompasses a myriad of issues, the CSIS task force concluded that the central problem on which virtually everything else hinges is the devastating war that has raged in Sudan since 1983. Now is an opportune and appropriate moment for the United States to join actively in a strong multilateral push, in collaboration with interested European powers, to end Sudan’s internal war. A sine qua non to any future progress is the cessation of the government of Sudan’s aerial bombardment of civilian humanitarian sites in the south. Sudan continues to matter significantly to U.S. interests—on human rights, humanitarian, and security grounds. Washington cannot afford to ignore Sudan’s extreme circumstances, rooted overwhelmingly in Sudan’s 18-year internal war. The new administration is well positioned to take a fresh look and move beyond a policy of containment and isolation that has made little headway in ending Sudan’s war, reforming Khartoum, or ameliorating Sudan’s humanitarian crisis and gross human rights abuses. Realistically, the only viable course to end Sudan’s war and see progress in other critical areas is through a hard-nosed strategy based on diplomacy, heightened engagement with all parties, enhanced inducements and punitive measures, and concerted multilateral initiatives. In the past two years, Sudan’s rising oil production has shifted the balance of military power in the government’s favor at the same time that significant internal rifts have surfaced in Khartoum. The surrounding region is in flux in its relations to the Sudan conflict, and it has become clear that competing regional peace initiatives hold no promise. In this fluid context, the United States possesses significant leverage. Among major powers, it is the lone holdout in renewing a dialogue with Khartoum. Equally important, it is the principal backer, in humanitarian and diplomatic terms, of the southern Sudanese opposition, recognizes the south’s moral cause, and will not countenance the military subjugation of the south..."