On 9th July the Republic of South Sudan will become the 54th state of Africa. In January 2011, 99% of the Sudanese voted to become independent. After twenty years of civil war people put high hopes in their independence. But there are still many conflicts between the North and the South.
In HSFK-Standpunkt 5/2011 Fragiler Frieden. Warum eine Ausweitung des internationalen Engagements im Südsudan notwendig ist, Stefanie Herr explains the pending tasks of South Sudan as well as the controversial issues between North and South. Among the internal challenges of the South are the lack of a national identity, ethnic and religious tensions as well as a lack of infrastructure and rule of law. Additionally, there are conflicts between the North and the South concerning the exact line of the border, particularly in the oil-rich regions.
Herr concludes that international support is essential for peace-keeping. The United Nations should multiply their presence to prevent violence. Furthermore, the international community should secure that North and South observe the agreements they made in the Comprehensive Peace Agreement.
This Standpunkt issue is available as free download (PDF file).