Sudan Human Rights Monitor Issue 12

(June-July 2011) On 9 July, Sudan’s Southern region officially seceded from the rest of the nation, becoming the Republic of South Sudan (RoSS). The secession follows the overwhelming January 2011 vote in favor of separation in the referendum for self-determination prescribed by the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA).

The birth of the new state evoked euphoria among Southern Sudanese at home and abroad. However with the secession comes a multitude of new challenges to the governments of Sudan and South Sudan as they struggle for redefinition and coexistence. The governing structures of both states are in flux as they transition to new entities. The South must create new structures appropriate for a newly independent country while the North must re-define the foundation of the state on its most basic levels in an environment characterised by severe repression. These dramatic changes are taking place in the context of a marked shift in international monitoring and presence with the drawdown of the United Nations Mission in Sudan (UNMIS) and the creation of the new UN missions in the South and in Abyei.

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