Renewing the Pledge: A New Report on the Peace Process in Southern Sudan

Human Rights First, together with 25 other groups, released a report Wednesday to urge that the implementation of the peace process in Sudan stay on track in the lead-up to two key referenda scheduled for January 2011. The referenda could result in the break-up of Sudan.

Some of the key players in the peace process will be meeting in Khartoum tomorrow, and still more at the African Union summit in Uganda, starting on Monday.

The report targets the “Guarantors” of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA)–those countries and multilateral organizations that, when the CPA was signed in 2005, pledged to support its full implementation. It urges these Guarantors intensify their efforts in the coming months and gives clear recommendations on how to do so.

Implementation of the CPA and these referenda in the South–which is at risk of future mass atrocities should the region not get proper attention–cannot, however, detract from the international efforts still needed to secure a sustainable peace in Darfur. Protecting the human rights of all Sudanese people, not only those at the highest risk at one moment or another, will help ensure that the international community’s attention to Sudan leads to long-term peace and stability.