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Office of the Chairman,
Khartoum

For Immediate Release
7 July 2011

PRESS RELEASE
AEC Final Report

NOTE #1: Click here to access the Arabic translation of this press release.
NOTE #2: Click here to access the full text of the AEC Final Report.

AEC submits final report prior to closure, its negotiation support functions transferred to IGAD

AEC / IGAD press briefing

The Chairman of the Assessment and Evaluation Commission, Sir Derek Plumbly, and the IGAD special envoy, Ambassador Lissane Yohannes, gave a joint press briefing at the Commission’s office in Khartoum on 7 July.

Sir Derek congratulated the people of the south on the impending birth of the Republic of South Sudan. He said that the overall achievement of the CPA was something that all in Sudan could view with great pride, including its success in sustaining peace between north and south after decades of civil war and the successful conduct of the self determination referendum, the result of which was promptly accepted by the government in Khartoum. Sir Derek voiced the AEC’s appreciation to H.E. President Omar al Bashir and H.E. President Salva Kiir Mayardiit for bringing CPA implementation safely to this point.

Sir Derek introduced the final report of the AEC, which was submitted on 6 July. The report gives an account of CPA implementation over the eighteen months since the January 2010 evaluation was published. It looks also at the negotiations between the parties facilitated by the African Union High Level Implementation Panel (AUHIP). It offers recommendations - which have been broadly discussed by AEC members - with regard to future steps.

Amb. Lissane and Sir Derek briefed on the transfer of the AEC’s negotiations support functions to IGAD. Thanks to its members, in particular the UK, Italy and Norway, the AEC has made available expertise and logistic and other support to the AUHIP and the parties, working closely with staff from the AU, IGAD and the UN. With the closure of the AEC this support will in future be provided through a Transitional Support Unit in the IGAD special envoy’s office.

Amb. Lissane noted the IGAD summit’s conclusion in this regard. Sir Derek stressed that the AEC’s closure was one manifestation of the historic change taking place this week but it in no way reflected a diminution in the interest of its international members in continuing to work closely with IGAD, with the African Union and with the governments of the Republic of Sudan and – as of next week – the Republic of South Sudan to support peace and development in and between both countries. The final report stressed the importance of continued cooperation and engagement to this end.

AEC Final Report

The report notes that the CPA has run its course with the end of the interim period. New agreements reached or emerging on outstanding CPA issues provide for the extension of relevant CPA principles and provisions. On Abyei the report says that the immediate priorities are deployment of the new UN force; appointment of the administration; and the safe return of displaced persons. Proceeding expeditiously with these will help to create a climate in which early resolution of the Abyei issue in line with the CPA protocol is possible. On north/south border issues the report says that agreement is within reach on modalities for managing outstanding issues drawing on the principle of a soft but secure border. The report underlines the seriousness of the conflict in Southern Kordofan, and of its humanitarian consequences. It welcomes the Framework Agreement on Political Partnership and Political and Security Arrangements in Blue Nile and Southern Kordofan states concluded in Addis Ababa on 28 June and calls for conclusion of an agreement on cessation of hostilities in Southern Kordofan as a matter of urgency.

The report looks forward to strong neighbourly relations between the Republic of Sudan and the Republic of South Sudan. It commends the leadership of the AUHIP under President Thabo Mbeki in the post secession negotiations, and the intensive engagement of the parties. It describes progress made on a range of post secession issues and calls for early resumption of discussions after 9 July as agreed at the IGAD summit. It advocates giving a high priority to discussion of outstanding economic issues. On citizenship, it encourages further dialogue, while noting the announcement in Khartoum that a transitional period of nine months will be granted for persons to regularise their status. It looks forward to the various strands of the post secession negotiations being drawn together in a single agreement, which will be a crucial point of reference in the post CPA period.

End of statement