Concurrent to the Southern Sudan referendum for self-determination and negotiations between the National Congress Party (NCP) and Sudan Peoples’ Liberation Movement (SPLM) on implementation of outstanding Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) elements, intense fighting occurred in Darfur amidst a deteriorating environment for humanitarian aid. Throughout December alone, over 32,000 were displaced from the Khor Abeche region, which extends from South of El Fashir in North Darfur to outside Nyala in South Darfur. The devastation has largely been rendered invisible: despite the magnitude of devastation and suffering in Darfur, international attention has largely shifted to North/South issues, with the crisis in Darfur “de-coupled” by the international community to encourage the referendum process. Indeed, the referendum has, in many ways, exacerbated the situation in Darfur as it offered a cover for Khartoum to withdraw from Doha while simultaneously urgently pressing for a solution and refusing the mediations’ proposal, resume fighting with their Darfur Peace Agreement (DPA) partner the Sudan Liberation Army/Mini Minawi (SLA/MM), and continue implementation of the “peace from within” strategy.

In October 2010, a group of nine individuals, alleged to be affiliated with the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) rebels in Darfur were sentenced to death by a judge in Nyala, South Darfur. They were found guilty of at least four charges (armed robbery, criminal damage, fomenting war against the state and offences against the state) in relation to a carjacking which had occurred in Khour Baskawit the previous May. The group included four minors: Ibrahim Shrief Yousef (17 years old, Birged Tribe), Altyeb Mohamed Yagoup, (16 years old, Zagawa Tribe), Abdalla Abdalla Doud, (16 years old, Gimr Tribe), and Abdarazig Daoud Abdelseed (15 years, Birged Tribe). The four minors sentenced to death had given their actual ages to the registry, but the court tried them as adults pursuant to medical examinations while they were in custody that determined they were over 18. There are no standardised procedures for determining age, and assessment is based on physical appearance. A fifth minor, Idriss Adam Abaker, was confirmed as a child on a second examination and his sentence commuted, but the court did not allow Ibrahim Shrief Yousef and Abdarazig Daoud Abdelseed to undergo the same examination. The group was tried by a Special Court established in 2 1997 to prosecute cases of hijacking and robbery; notably, the Court has significantly less judicial monitoring and oversight than other courts in Nyala.

(December 2010-January 2011) Over their history, North and South Sudan have struggled to coexist in a single state. The history of post- independence relations is overshadowed by war. The 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) ended the Second Sudanese War, which devastated the South, killed two million and displaced a further …

The clock is ticking fast towards what might be the most important date in modern sudanese history – two referenda in sudan that are likely to result in the breakup of africa’s largest state. With six months remaining until 9 January 2011, the scheduled date of the referenda, the run-up to, and outcome of, the vote must be managed with extreme care. the Guarantors to the comprehensive peace agreement (CPA), who invested considerable effort in obtaining the CPA on 9 January 2005, have both a responsibility and an ability to help sudan implement the CPA and prevent further conflict. It is imperative that the Guarantors urgently redouble their efforts to ensure adequate preparations for the referenda, and help secure agreements on sensitive issues such as border demarcation and oil sharing.