UN Security Council stresses timely, peaceful referendum in Sudan

UN Security Council stresses timely, peaceful referendum in Sudan

2010-10-08 07:41:02 GMT+7 (ICT)

UNITED NATIONS (BNO NEWS) – The United Nations Security Council on Thursday stressed the importance that the two referendum scheduled for January in Sudan must be held on time and in a peaceful environment according to the provisions agreed after the war.

"We are here to reinforce that message and the determination of the Council to support you and all parties to the CPA (Comprehensive Peace Agreement) in that process," said Ambassador Susan Rice of the United States, leader of the UN delegation.

Sudan will hold a referendum vote on January 9 where all inhabitants of southern Sudan will vote on whether to secede from the rest of the government. In the central area of Abyei, residents will vote on whether to be part of the north or the south.

The planned referendum is the last phase of the implementation of the CPA, signed in 2005 after the end of the armed conflict that lasted two decades between the northern Government and the southern Sudan People's Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A).

The Security Council delegation visited Sudan to follow-up last month's high-level meeting on held under UN auspices in New York that resulted in a call on the international community to respect the outcome of the referendum if they meet those stipulated criteria.

"The core responsibility for successful implementation of the CPA remains in the hands of the regional Government of Southern Sudan (GoSS), the national Government in Khartoum, and the Sudanese people," Rice added.

The delegation's two-day trip ended in a visit to the Dr. John Garang Unified Memorial Police Training Academy in the town of Rejaf, near Juba, the capital of southern Sudan.

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