Obama will deliver ‘substantial remarks’ at the UN meeting on Sudan: White House

September 20, 2010 (WASHINGTON) – The United States President Barack Obama intends to deliver “substantial remarks” at the meeting hosted by the United Nations on Friday to discuss issues in Sudan particularly the upcoming referendum in the South of the country which is scheduled to take place in early January.

The Sudanese First Vice President and South Sudan president Salva Kiir as well as 2nd Vice President Ali Osman Taha will be present at the meeting called for by the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon.

“The President decided to participate in this event, which was actually at one point originally intended as a ministerial, because this could not be a more critical time in the life of Sudan and also in the life of international efforts to ensure that these referenda go off on time and peacefully,” said senior director of multilateral affairs at the White House Samantha Power at a conference call on Monday.

“[T]he number one message [by Obama] is that these referenda must go off on time, that they must be peaceful, and they must reflect the will of the people of South Sudan,” Power said.

Under a 2005 peace agreement, South Sudan is due in January to vote in a referendum on independence and most observers expect southerners to overwhelmingly back full independence.
?
But the North and South have been well behind schedule in preparing for the key vote casting doubt over whether it can be held on time.

Furthermore, many post-referendum arrangements have yet to be ironed out particularly border demarcation, oil sharing, citizenship, national debts and water.

Another referendum will take place simultaneously in the contested oil-rich region of Abyei, where residents will have to decide whether they want to be part of north or south Sudan. The composition of Abyei’s referendum commission has not yet been revealed.

Furthermore, the North has appeared to be reluctant to implement the ruling of the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) that redefined Abyei’s borders.

The international community is worried that both sides may resort to war should there be a delay in referendum which some observers described as a strong possibility given the tight timeframe. The registration of Southern voters is due to start in October.

Powers described the summit as an opportunity for the international community “to stand together again and send a very forceful message at a critical make-or-break time,”.

The U.S. national security adviser further said that Obama will speak on the need for enhanced security and dignity for the people of Darfur and the need for accountability as well as emphasize the crucial nature of “humanitarian access and the importance of peacekeepers and aid workers being allowed the mobility, the security, and the access they need to do their jobs and to improve the welfare of the people both in Darfur and in South Sudan and beyond”.

The United States has intensified its diplomatic engagement with South Sudan and the northern government in Khartoum and offered both sides last week a new package of incentives to reach a deal, balanced by the threat of new punitive measures including sanctions if progress stalls.

(ST)