Originally published on the CGS blog on July 18, 2011.
Born out of war; that has been the headline from so many journalists concerning South Sudan. The dire circumstances which led to South Sudan’s independence, are now causing the international community to work diligently with the South Sudanese to prevent continued violence and tension in the region.
Last week, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee held a hearing titled “Two New Sudans: A Roadmap Forward.” Princeton Lyman, the United States Special Envoy for Sudan, was the sole witness. Lyman began by announcing how successful the independence celebration was in Juba on the July 9th weekend. The celebration is of course now followed by an abundance of issues that must still be addressed.
There are reports that human rights atrocities are continuing in Southern Kordofan and the Blue Nile areas. The North must work to prevent genocide from occurring within its borders again. The border region, Abyei, is also a point of major concern for Ambassador Lyman and many others because there is still no agreement between the North and South on a border and the threat of military action is still looming. The border in itself presents a whole array of problems for South and North Sudan. The issue of resource management (people venturing across the border for water), addressing citizenship and creating a final constitution all still need to be accomplished. The current interim constitution centralizes power around the presidency, which is something that the international community is trying to discourage in the final constitution. South Sudan needs a transparent government so that the people can trust in their nation’s leadership.
Princeton Lyman went on to explain that South Sudan does not have to be a slave to its oil dependence. In fact, the nation should be the bread basket of Africa. The problem is that after so many years of war and displaced people there is no infrastructure to support an agriculture industry. Ambassador Lyman expressed hope that China will invest in infrastructure in South Sudan because of its oil interests. Infrastructure for roads, education and medical care all need to be developed as well. Once they are, however, South Sudan will have opportunities to expand its industries, which may include tourism thanks to their abundance of wild life.
The South Sudanese need to do their part in developing their nation by ensuring a transparent government so that foreign investors can have the confidence to support infrastructure and industry without the worry of internal corruption. North Sudan may have greater issues attracting those same foreign investors because of their continuation of violence, corruption and international isolation. Both nations will have to work together and leave their scarred histories behind if they plan on achieving prosperous futures.
