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UN Expresses â€œDeep Concernâ€ About Sudan Referendum

17 November 2010 04:51 (UTC +04:00)

Baku â€“ APA. The United Nations Security Council is discussing the upcoming referendum in Sudan, scheduled for January, that will decide whether southern Sudan will become an independent country, APA reports quoting â€œThe Voice of Americaâ€.
A separate referendum scheduled for the same date is to decide whether the oil-rich Abyei region joins the north or south.
In a statement, the Security Council said it has â€œdeep concernâ€ about renewed conflict in the Darfur region, where the U.N. estimates some 300,000 people have died since 2003.
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon said the international community stands ready to provide further technical and logistical support to Sudan. He said the U.N. is working with both sides on a possible increase in security to handle violence before and after the election.
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said women must be involved at the highest levels of government. She said it has been shown repeatedly that the underlying issues that cause conflict are more likely to occur and less likely to be resolved if women are absent from the peace table.
The Southern Sudan Referendum Commission has set up more than 2,600 registration centers in the south and 165 in the north. Registration is also available in eight other countries for southern Sudanese living abroad.
The referendum is a central part of the 2005 peace deal that ended Sudanâ€™s north-south civil war. The referendum commission has not clarified which ethnic groups are eligible to vote January 9. That has led to concerns that mistakes could be made when election workers make decisions on who is qualified to register.
The African Union says leaders from the north and south have agreed on a framework for settling key issues ahead of the vote. That agreement says that if the two regions split, they will allow free movement of people and trade across the border.
Observers have warned that preparations for both referendums are running far behind schedule. The United States suggested last week that the sides find an alternative to the Abyei referendum.
North and south have accused each other of building up weapons and troops along their boundary ahead of the January vote. But defense ministers from both sides have vowed there will be no return to war.