Minority Rights Group International: South Sudan risks conflict over exclusion of minority groups
By Julius N. Uma
December 14, 2011 (JUBA) — The newly independent South Sudan risks an outbreak of internal conflicts, if minority ethnic rights are excluded from the country’s major decision making process, Minority Rights Group International (MRG) said in a recent briefing.
- David K. Deng from South Sudan Law Society and MRG’s Marusca Perazzi during the launch of the briefing, December 14, 2011 (ST)
The update, entitled “Southern Sudan: The role of minority rights in building a new nation”, details a series of interviews conducted on the protection of land and property rights of minority groups and individuals in the country.
The role of minorities, it says, must be a focal point in the nation-building process, adding that competition over access to scarce resources could cause tensions between groups, often leading to an explosion of violence that undermines development initiatives.
“There is also a danger that ethnic concerns could hijack the political process even as it develops. This could create a state dominated by the interests of the most populous ethnic groups at the expense of smaller ones,” the 12-page briefing partly reads.
The newly independent South Sudan, which comprises of 10 states, is a home to an estimated 56 ethnic groups and almost 600 sub-groups.
In an interview with Sudan Tribune on Wednesday, Marusca Perazzi, MRG’s Conflict Prevention Projects Coordinator expressed fear on the risk of minority people losing not only their cultural identities, but natural resources as well.
“Minority communities should be allowed to develop their own systems to enable them protect their rights on land and properties,” Perazzi said during the launch of the briefing in Juba, the South Sudan capital.
MRG’s comprehensive update, among others, urges government to ensure that land leases to private companies are subjected to community consultations, and that South Sudan’s draft transitional constitution should be modified to allow for an independent and impartial process for the appointment of the members of the Land Commission, rather than appointment by the President, as is currently provided for.
The same process, it further recommends, should apply to bodies established at county and payam (district) levels under South Sudan Land Act 2009.
A 2011 baseline survey on large scale land-based investment in South Sudan shockingly revealed that about 2.64 million ha or 26,400 km2 (larger than the size of Rwanda) has been allocated for foreign investments in agriculture, bio-fuel and forestry.
The survey carried out by South Sudan Law Society and Generation Agency for Development and Transformation-Pentagon (GADET-Pentagon) further noted that about 5.74 million ha or (57,400 km2), an equivalent of 9% of South Sudan’s total land area have been earmarked for both domestic and foreign investments.
Companies such as such Al Ain Wildlife, Nile Trading and Development and Jarch Management, according to the survey, lead the pack of investors with the biggest land allocations in South Sudan.
(ST)
http://www.sudantribune.com/S-Sudan-risks-conflict-over,40997
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