South Sudan admitted to U.N. as 193rd member

The flag of South Sudan flies after the United Nations General Assembly voted on …

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) – The General Assembly admitted South Sudan on Thursday as the 193rd member of the United Nations, sealing the new African country’s independence after decades of conflict.

The assembly vote, by acclamation, followed South Sudan’s independence proclamation in the capital Juba on Saturday, after its people voted in a January referendum to break away fromSudan – a decision accepted by Khartoum.

Applause broke out in the assembly as South Sudan became the first country to join the world body since Montenegro in 2006. The Security Council, which rules on all U.N. membership applications, had recommended the admission on Wednesday.

“Welcome, South Sudan. Welcome to the community of nations,” U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said. Assembly President Joseph Deiss said it was a “historic and joyous moment.”

The South Sudan flag — black, red and green stripes, overlaid with a blue triangle and gold star — was later hoisted outside U.N. headquarters in New York.

The new country will be one of the world’s poorest and inherit a string of disputes with Khartoum. But representatives of the two countries pledged on Thursday to put the past behind them and resolve outstanding issues peacefully.

South Sudan’s vote for independence was held under the terms of a 2005 peace deal ending a 20-year war between north and south Sudan in which more than 2 million people died.

Sudan — until now Africa’s largest country — became independent in 1956 but was long plagued by conflict between its mainly Muslim Arabic-speaking north and its black African south, where many are Christian or follow traditional beliefs.

SUDANESE “BROTHERS”

Presenting the U.N. admission resolution to the General Assembly, South African Justice Minister Jeff Radebe said South Sudan was an exception to Africa’s practice of adhering to colonial borders and “in no way creates a precedent for separatist tendencies.”

Continuing a show of graciousness by Khartoum over South Sudan’s secession, Sudan’s Ambassador Daffa-Alla Elhag Ali Osman said the people of both countries would continue to be all Sudanese and members of one family.

“This is a new page and we hold out our hand to all,” he told the assembly. “We and our brothers in South Sudan have left bitterness and the wounds of war behind us and we’re looking to the future.”

South Sudanese Vice President Riek Machar paid tribute to Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir for signing the 2005 peace deal and for “courageously accepting the outcome” of the January referendum.

“It is our deepest and most sincere wish to resolve all outstanding matters between north and south safely and peacefully,” he said. “We do not harbor bitterness toward our former compatriots.”

Unresolved disputes between Juba and Khartoum include the exact borders, citizenship, and the sharing of oil resources.

Apart from the fighting in Southern Kordostan, it is still undecided which country will own the border region of Abyei, where a 4,200-strong Ethiopian U.N. peacekeeping force is shortly to deploy.

In Washington, the tone was less upbeat than at the United Nations with a congressional committee discussing violence in the state of Southern Kordofan, which is part of Sudan. The United Nations estimates 73,000 people have fled fighting there between the northern army and pro-southern troops.

The U.S. special envoy to Sudan, Princeton Lyman, told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that the United States was pressing for a 72-hour “pause” in the hostilities in Southern Kordofan in order for humanitarian help such as food and medicine to get through.

Committee chairman Senator John Kerry, who is close to the Obama administration, warned Washington could not change its designation of Sudan as a state sponsor of terrorism “if gross human rights violations are taking place.”

Despite having oil, South Sudan will need substantial foreign aid. U.N. chief Ban acknowledged this week that “on the day of its birth, South Sudan ranks at the bottom of almost all human development indicators.”

(Additional reporting by Susan Cornwell in Washington and Megan Davies at the UN; Editing by Bill Trott)

South Sudan Joins UN

From Political Geography Now (http://polgeonow.blogspot.com)

Country Name: South Sudan

Official Name: Republic of South Sudan
News Categories: Intergovernmental Organizations, New Countries
Summary: The newly independent Republic of South Sudan was admitted into the United Nations (U.N.) last week, effectively giving it full status as a nation-state in the international community. Diplomatic recognition from individual countries is still continuing, though the process is now little more than a formality.

U.N. headquarters in New York fly South Sudan’s flag after accepting the new state as a member. U.N. photo used in accordance with official usage policy (source).

Full Story
Just five days after officially declaring independence, the new Republic of South Sudan has been welcomed as the 193rd member of the United Nations. The small African country received membership through a unanimous vote of the U.N. General Assembly on July 14th, following a recommendation from the U.N. Security Council the day before, which was also unanimous. Membership will allow the new state to participate fully in the U.N. and all of its associated organizations, and gives it the legitimacy required for a guaranteed place on world maps and lists of the world’s countries.

In addition to U.N. membership, South Sudan has continued to receive recognition from individual countries. Approximately 88 U.N. members and six other sovereign states have now made official statements recognizing the new country. Although that still leaves 104 U.N. member countries which have not yet formally recognized South Sudan, the unanimous vote of the U.N. General Assembly suggests that all members do intend to acknowledge its legitimacy, whether by official decree or not. No state has indicated any intention to oppose the new state’s independence.

Countries which have officially stated their recognition of South Sudan’s sovereignty (green). South Sudan in blue. Modified from this Wikimedia map (public domain).

13 July, 2011

New Country: South Sudan

From Political Geography Now (http://polgeonow.blogspot.com)

Country Name: South Sudan
Official Name: Republic of South Sudan
News Category: New Countries
Summary: The Republic of South Sudan has officially declared independence from Sudan. The declaration comes within the legal framework of a 2005 peace agreement between the north and south, and as a result of a 2011 popular vote. South Sudan is expected to be rapidly accepted into the international community as the world’s newest country.History

Flag of South Sudan (source)

Northern and Southern Sudan are historically distinct regions, both culturally and geographically. The arid north has long been dominated by nomadic Arab herders, with Islam as the primary religion. Meanwhile, the wetter south is populated by various agricultural peoples practicing local religions or Christianity. The north and south were ruled as separate colonies by the British during the first half of the 20th Century, but were later unified, with power weighted toward the north. By the time Sudan gained independence in 1956, a civil war was raging over the south’s demands for greater representation and autonomy. A peace agreement was finally reached in 1972, granting Southern Sudan many of its demands; but the country descended again into war in 1983, after the central government in Khartoum withdrew the concessions.

Newly independent South Sudan in purple. Sudan in green. Modified from this map (license: CC BY-SA).

Independence
The devastating second civil war finally came to an end with the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement, signed by the Government of Sudan in the north and the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement in the south. The agreement specified that the people of Southern Sudan would have the chance to vote on whether to become independent. After six years of uneasy coexistence between the two sides, the referendum was finally held in January 2011. Ninety-nine percent of voters chose independence, and the date for the declaration was set for July 9. Despite diplomatic confrontations and armed clashes, the separation proceeded, with the Government of Sudan in the north becoming the first country to recognize the south’s independence. The north retained the name “Sudan”.

Former Sudan. South Sudan in blue. Green areas remain part of Sudan (disputed regions in dark green). Disputed Abyei (yellow) is under U.N. control. Modified from this map by Wikimedia user Lokal_Profil (CC BY-SA 2.5).

However, the status of three border regions – the Abyei Area, South Kordofan state, and Blue Nile state – has not yet been decided. Abyei is claimed both by the south and by the north, which is in the process of turning it over to U.N. peacekeeping forces. The 2005 agreement promised Abyei’s people the chance to vote on which side to join, but the referendum hasn’t come together. South Kordofan and Blue Nile are controlled by the north, but were promised vaguely defined “popular consultations”, which also have not come to pass, leading to continued violence in South Kordofan. The region of Darfur in western Sudan was not at issue in the north-south civil war, and remains part of the north.

South Sudan’s capital and states. Modified from this map (public domain).

Country Profile
South Sudan is a land-locked country in East Africa, bordered by six other countries, and divided into ten states. It is a constitutional republic with its capital in the city of Juba, and is currently led by President Salva Kiir, a former southern rebel leader. Bisected by the White Nile river, the lushly vegetated country is home to some of the largest remaining populations of endangered African wildlife. South Sudan’s roughly 8 million people come from a diverse range of cultural groups, the largest of which is the Dinka people. While English is the official language, Dinka and many other languages are spoken locally, and Arabic (the official language of Sudan) is also widely spoken as a second language. Although the country has rich oil resources, its people currently suffer with one of the lowest standards of living in the world.

International Relations
Technically, South Sudan is still a “partially recognized” state, as it has not yet been admitted to the United Nations and is still awaiting diplomatic recognition from many countries. However, it is expected to be admitted into the U.N. within days, and its recognition is growing rapidly: it has already been recognized by about 60 U.N. member countries and four other sovereign states. In addition to the U.N., South Sudan has applied for membership to the African Union, the Commonwealth of Nations, and the East African Community. It has been invited into the Arab League, but is not likely to join, as most of its people do not identify as Arabs (unlike Sudan in the north). Political Geography Now will continue to publish updates as South Sudan’s international status evolves.

Countries which have recognized South Sudan’s sovereignty (green). South Sudan in blue. Modified from this Wikimedia map (public domain).

1. Source: BBC Photo credit: CBC

   Tens of thousands of South Sudanese have watched the raising of the new country’s flag at an independence ceremony in the capital, Juba. Salva Kiir signed the constitution and took his oath of office in front of the jubilant crowds, becoming the president of the world’s newest nation.

   

   Sudan’s President Omar al-Bashir and UN chief Ban Ki-moon were among dignitaries at the historic events. Sudan earlier became the first state to officially recognise its new neighbour.The world’s newest nation was born at midnight local South Sudanese time (2100 GMT), the climax of a process made possible by the 2005 peace deal that ended a long civil war.The south’s independence follows decades of conflict with the north in which some 1.5 million people died.South Sudan became the 193rd country recognised by the UN and the 54th UN member state in Africa.

   Tears

   Celebrations in Juba began at midnight (2100 GMT). A countdown clock in the city centre reached zero and the new national anthem was played on television.

   Saturday’s independence ceremony is being held at the mausoleum of the late rebel leader John Garang, who died just months after signing the peace deal that ended Africa’s longest-running conflict.

   The BBC’s Will Ross in Juba says people have flocked to the event on a baking hot day – some of them climbing trees to get a view.

   There is a heartfelt display of excitement mixed with relief that after many years of feeling oppressed the tie with the north has finally been cut, he says.

   The Speaker of the South Sudan Legislative Assembly, James Wani Igga, read out the Proclamation of the Independence.

   Crowds then cheered as Sudan’s national flag was lowered and the new flag of South Sudan was raised as trumpets played the new national anthem.

   Afterwards the master of ceremonies told the crowd that President Kiir has decided not to hand over the flag of the Republic of Sudan.

   “It shall be kept be kept in the archives of South Sudan in recognition of the common history that we have lived together,” he told the crowd.

   Our reporter says people in the crowds have been saying it is a moment to celebrate but they are also talking about the many lost relatives who died during the war.

   ‘Southern brothers’

   Earlier, Mr Bashir arrived at Juba airport where he was greeted by Mr Kiir.

   Other dignitaries attending the celebrations include former US Secretary of State Colin Powell and the US permanent representative to the UN, Susan Rice.

   Under the Comprehensive Peace Agreement, a referendum was held on independence, which was approved by more than 99% of voters.

   The new country is rich in oil, but one of the least developed countries in the world, where one in seven children dies before the age of five.

   Unresolved disputes between the north and south, particularly over the new border, have also raised the possibility of renewed conflict.

   President Bashir, who agreed the 2005 peace deal with the Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA), stressed his country’s “readiness to work with our southern brothers and help them set up their state so that, God willing, this state will be stable and develop”.

   “The co-operation between us will be excellent, particularly when it comes to marking and preserving the border so there is a movement of citizens and goods via this border,” he told journalists in Khartoum.

   Fears of fresh violence resurfaced after recent fighting in two border areas, Abyei and South Kordofan, where some 170,000 people have been forced from their homes.

   But separate deals – and the withdrawal of rival forces from the border – have calmed tensions.

   The UN Security Council has passed a resolution approving a 7,000-strong peacekeeping force for South Sudan – but this is basically a rebranding of the force that was already in Sudan, mostly in the south.

   Our correspondent says keeping both the north and the south stable long after the celebratory parties have ended will be a challenge.

   The two sides must still decide on issues such as drawing up the new border and how to divide Sudan’s debts and oil wealth.

   Analysts say the priority for Khartoum will be to negotiate a favourable deal on oil revenue, as most oilfields lie in the south. At present, the revenues are being shared equally.

   Khartoum has some leverage, as most of the oil pipelines flow north to Port Sudan on the Red Sea.

   Citizenship is also a key sticking point. A new law passed by the National Assembly in Khartoum has withdrawn Sudanese citizenship from all southerners.

   The UN refugee agency has urged both governments to prevent statelessness.