Engagement between the South African government and both the sovereign governments of Sudan and the Republic of South Sudan is critical to regional East African stability.

Ambassador of Sudan to South Africa, Dr Ali Yousif Ahmed Al-Sharif, says that the success of north–south Sudanese relations is, to a large extent, reliant on African Union (AU) and, specifically, South African support.

Speaking at a discussion forum organised by the Institute for Global Dialogue (IGD) and the Africa Institute of South Africa at the Department of International Relations and Cooperation, in Pretoria, Al-Sharif called for a trilateral commission involving north Sudan, South Sudan and South Africa.

In a postreferendum environment, Al-Sharif outlined three objectives required for consolidating South Sudan as a sovereign State. The first is to create sustained peace in the region, which involves resolving all outstanding issues between North and South Sudan before the Comprehensive Peace Agreement expires on July 9. These issues include the Abyei problem, border demarcation, resource sharing, the Northern debt issue and violence in Darfur.

Al-Sharif identified the presence of the Northern Ugandan rebel group the Lords Resistance Army in South Sudan as a barrier to peace, especially in Darfur. He also called for the International Criminal Court to drop its indictment of Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir as it was having a negative effect on the current peace process in the region.

The second objective was to ensure the creation of two viable States. This will involve human and institutional capacity building, southern poverty reduction – identified as the “peace dividend” – the repatriation of Southern refugees, enhancing the South’s anticorruption strategy, as well as promoting investment and facilitating technology transfers with willing partners.

The final objective rested in developing the institutional capacity that would allow for effective governance in South Sudan. A suitable environment also needed to be cultivated that would allow civil society and other support programmes to flourish. Al-Sharif identified the South African postapartheid experience as a valuable point of learning for South Sudan.

THE NEED FOR DIALOGUE

Principal Liaison Officer of South Sudan in South Africa Dr John Yoh, applauded the South African approach to the Sudanese conflict. He argued that the South African government had always judged the situation on its merits, as opposed to the broader international community which views African politics from past experiences.

He called for the continuation of this approach from South Africa as Sudan enters a development phase in its history, as well as for the international community to change its policy framework and perception of African politics.

Meanwhile, IGD executive director Dr Siphamandla Zondi argued that, once the euphoria of the referendum results wore off, Sudan’s traumatic violent past would act as a barrier for development. He argued that the new State would have to go through a period of catharsis in order to overcome these obstacles, which could only be done through active dialogue between previous warring factions in Sudan. He, too, pointed to lessons that could be learnt from South Africa’s postapartheid reconstruction.

Overall, there was a call for South Africa, the AU and other regional partners to engage with both North and South Sudan in order to assist the country in its development both politically and economically. Although bilateral engagement between the North and the South is crucial, multilateral regional engagement will go far in meeting and facilitating the South’s developmental goals.