Showing posts with label John Kerry. Show all posts
Showing posts with label John Kerry. Show all posts

Wednesday, November 03, 2010

Sudan top priority for UN Security Council - UK takes the rotating presidency at the Security Council for November

Sudan top priority for Security Council
Source: UPI.com - www.upi.com
Date: Wednesday, 03 November 2010 at 1:25 PM
(LONDON, Nov. 3 (UPI) -- London will place Sudan at the forefront of U.N. Security Council debates as it assumes the rotating presidency of the body, the foreign secretary said.

London takes the rotating presidency at the Security Council for November. British Foreign Secretary William Hague said London considered Sudan a high-priority topic during its presidency.

He said he would lead a Security Council debate on Sudan on Nov. 16, where the focus would be on the steps needed to complete a January referendum on time.

South Sudan is voting for self-determination in January as part of a comprehensive peace deal brokered in part by U.S. President George W. Bush in 2005.

Residents in the central Sudanese area of Abyei will also vote on whether they want to joint North or South Sudan.

Hague said London would "push for timely completion" of the peace deal through the January measure.

Election officials with the United Nations said more than 3,000 voter registration kits were delivered during the weekend in preparation for a registration drive.

Washington added that it believes the January measure is on schedule "but clearly, the parties need to come together, make some decisions and then take the appropriate actions to prepare not only for that referendum but also the one regarding South Sudan."
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UN Security Council's British presidency aims at Sudan peace - Summary
Source: Earthtimes.org
Written by: The German Press Agency Deutsche Presse-Agentur (dpa) - www.dpa.com
Date: Tuesday, 02 November 2010 - excerpt:
The 15-nation council will hold an open debate on November 16 on the situation of Sudan, to be presided over by British Foreign Secretary William Hague. London said that Sudan is its "highest priority" as it took over the rotating presidency of the council this month.

"We will use our presidency to push for timely completion of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement, give support to the efforts of President (Thabo) Mbeki and the African Union," the Foreign Office said in a statement.

"We will maintain the Security Council's focus on Darfur and reinforce the importance of lasting and inclusive peace settlement for the Darfuri people," it said.

The British ambassador to the UN, Mark Lyall Grant, told reporters the debate will involve UN, Sudanese and other African diplomats.

"We believe it critical that the Security Council maintains very close focus on Sudan," Grant said. He led a council delegation that visited Africa's Great Lakes region last month.

"The council attaches great importance that the referenda be held in a timely and peaceful fashion, and that the outcomes are respected by all parties," Grant said.

London said it is working with donors and Sudanese parties to make "urgent progress on preparations" for the referenda and is providing 10 million British pounds (16 million dollars) to support the vote.

London is also providing 100 million pounds to support the UN mission in Sudan and the UN-African Union peacekeeping operations in Darfur.
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EU allocates €17 million for ongoing humanitarian needs ahead of upcoming referendum on South Sudan
Source: Sudan Tribune - www.sudantribune.com
Date: Monday, 01 November 2010 - excerpts:
The European Commission approved an additional package of €17 million to support the advance preparation of essential humanitarian provisions in Darfur, the South and the Transitional Areas ahead of the referendum on the self determination of Southern Sudan, expected in January 2011. This new decision brings the Commission’s support for humanitarian aid in Sudan to a total of €131 million.

Sudan is the European Commission’s largest beneficiary country for humanitarian aid. With this new allocation, the budget for 2010 is €131 million, covering operations in Darfur, South Sudan and the Transitional Areas.

For further information:
http://ec.europa.eu/echo/index_en.htm
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UN continues to providing support to Sudan ahead of referendum
Source: UN News Centre - www.un.org
Date: Monday, 01 November 2010



Photo: UN Integrated Referendum and Electoral Division (UNIRED) hands over material to support the January 2011 referendum
The United Nations stands ready to assist the upcoming referendum that will decide whether southern Sudan declares independence from Africa’s largest country, an official with the world body said today, with voter registration set to kick off in two weeks.

People in southern Sudan are set to register at referendum centres throughout the country and abroad to vote on 9 January.

“This exercise, conducted by the Southern Sudan Referendum Commission [SSRC], is one of the most important steps in the lead-up to the polling,” Denis Kadima, Director of the UN Integrated Referendum and Electoral Division (UNIRED), told reporters in Khartoum today.

Over the weekend, more than 3,000 registration kits for distribution in southern Sudan and 840 kits for the north, along with registration books and cards, were handed over to the SSRC and its bureau in Juba, the southern capital.

The UN is helping to transport kits and books from Juba to the capitals of Sudan’s states to train nearly 11,000 referendum centre staff, Mr. Kadima said.

UNIRED’s technical assistance includes designing voter registration forms, developing complaint regulations and designing voter education materials, he added.

“The UN provides logistical support to deliver those items to locations throughout Sudan and in the eight countries where southerners will exercise their right to vote,” the official said, referring to Australia, Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, Egypt, Ethiopia, Uganda and Kenya.

For its part, the UN peacekeeping mission in Sudan, known as UNMIS, will deliver these supplies by air to remote and isolated locations, while the joint UN-African Union mission in the Darfur (UNAMID) will transport registration materials from Khartoum to the war-ravaged region’s state capitals.

Security for the delivery of referendum materials will be ensured by the Southern Sudan Police Service in the south and by the Sudan Police in the north. UNMIS police have trained nearly 14,000 police officers in the south between May and October, with preparations for referendum security training in the north under way.

“Informing the Sudanese people and potential voters about the referendum process is another way in which UNIRED is helping to create the conditions for a free, fair and transparent process,” Mr. Kadima said today.

The SSRC voter education materials – including posters, stickers, banners, caps and bags – are being procured with the support from the UN Development Basket Fund, while donors are supporting civil society organizations in carrying out awareness programmes.

“Within its capacity, UNMIS will continue to do its most to ensure that the referendum is held on time and peacefully,” Mr. Kadima said, adding that the upcoming voter registration is one of the most “important milestones” in the referendum process.

On 9 January the inhabitants of southern Sudan will vote on whether to secede from the rest of the country, while the residents of the central area of Abyei will vote on whether to be part of the north or the south.

The referenda will be the final phase in the implementation of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA), which was signed in 2005 to end two decades of conflict between the northern-based Government and the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A) in the south.

“This peace process is unique in the history of the Sudan and the next few months will be critical for safeguarding the achievements made since the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement,” Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon wrote in his latest report to the Security Council on Sudan.

“As the Comprehensive Peace Agreement deadline for the referendums approaches, public anticipation and anxiety are building up at an accelerated pace. The events of the next three months will have a profound impact on the future of the Sudan.

“The stakes are undeniably high, as failure to meet the deadline for the referendums prescribed by the Comprehensive Peace Agreement could have severe consequences. Notwithstanding the progress made so far, it is imperative that the parties to the Agreement and all relevant authorities redouble their efforts to ensure that they successfully meet the deadline,” he said.
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REFERENDUM MATERIALS HANDED OVER IN KHARTOUM
ON 30 OCTOBER 2010


U.N. preps for Sudan's voter registration
Source: UPI.com - www.upi.com
Date: Tuesday, 02 November 2010 at 1:19 PM - excerpt:
Voter registration for a referendum on self-determination for South Sudan gets under way in two weeks, the United Nations announced.
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Photo: U.N. Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary General of Sudan (SRSG) Jasbir Lider, U.S. Special Envoy Scott Gration (L), Southern Sudan Referendum Commission (SSRC) Chairperson Mohamed Ibrahim Khalil (C), Senior Adviser USAID Larry Garber (2nd L), Commissioner Sabit Alley (2nd R) pose with election materials that include voter registration kits, manuals and cards of referendum materials that were handed over in Khartoum October 30, 2010 (Reuters/Mohamed Nureldin Abdallah) Yahoo News



Photo: U.N. Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary General of Sudan Jasbir Lider hands over election materials that include voter registration kits, manuals and cards of referendum materials to the Southern Sudan Referendum Commission (SSRC) Chairperson Mohamed Ibrahim Khalil in Khartoum October 30, 2010. (Reuters/Mohamed Nureldin Abdallah) Yahoo News



Photo: U.N. Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary General of Sudan (SRSG) Jasbir Lider, U.S. Special Envoy Scott Gration and Southern Sudan Referendum Commission (SSRC) Chairperson Mohamed Ibrahim Khalil look at election materials that include voter registration kits, manuals and cards of referendum materials that were handed over in Khartoum October 30, 2010. (Reuters/Mohamed Nureldin Abdallah) Yahoo News

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Sudan's commitment to election welcomed
Source: UPI.com - www.upi.com
Date: Monday, 25 October 2010 at 9:01 AM - excerpts:
Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, completed a three-day visit to the African country Sunday and said the government has put its commitment in writing to conduct the Jan. 9 referendum, Voice of America reported.

Fouad Hikmat, International Crisis Group's African Union and Sudan special adviser, said the assurances given to Kerry were a positive development

"I think it is very good news, and this maybe a reiteration from (Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir) what he just recently said to the Sudanese people through his speech to the national assembly that he is going to work very hard to make sure that the referendum is going to be on time, and that the government is going to respect the results of the referendum provided that it is done in a transparent, free and accurate way," Hikmat said.

During his visit, Kerry warned of tougher U.S. sanctions against Sudan if the governments of north and south Sudan hamper the referendum, VOA said.

Hikmat said Khartoum wants its relationship with the United States to improve, as well as sanctions lifted and the country's removal from the terrorist watch list. He also said Sudan would like U.S. help with the International Criminal Court's arrest warrant against Bashir for war crimes allegedly committed in Sudan's Darfur region.
U.N. extends mandate for Darfur
Source: UPI.com - www.upi.com
Date: Friday, 15 October 2010 at 1:31 PM - excerpts:
Security Council voted to extend the mandate for the mission to Darfur as South Sudan gets set for a January vote for self-determination.

The U.N. Security Council, meanwhile, voted to extend a mandate for a monitoring group for Darfur. The group is tasked with monitoring an arms embargo and individuals who are thwarting the peace process in the troubled region of Africa.

China, a veto-wielding member of the Security Council, abstained from the vote, saying it questioned the panel's objectivity.

Members of the Security Council recently returned from a tour of Sudan where they reviewed developments in Darfur and preparations under way to hold the referendum.
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From The New York Times - 02 November 2010

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