Juba calling: Hopes for the world's newest nation

Thatcher Room, Portcullis House

Thursday 7th July

1 - 3pm

(Hosted by Roger Gale MP, Vice Chair of the APG for Sudan)

On the 9th of July the Republic of South Sudan will become the world's newest nation, following January's referendum in which Southern Sudanese voted to separate from the north. The 9th of July also represents the end of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement, which ended two decades of civil war.

The legacy of Sudan's wars is enormous. The north-south conflict alone cost the lives of 1.5 million people and the continuing conflict in Darfur has driven two million people from their homes and killed more than 200,000. Amidst the hope of independence celebrations, hundreds of thousands of displaced southerners are returning to a homeland which some have described as needing to be built from scratch. The new government of South Sudan will face enormous challenges - a severe lack of infrastructure, some of the worst development indicators in the world, and a substantial dependence on international assistance for basic services. And as tens of thousands flee violence which has erupted in the border regions of South Kordofan and Abyei, the new nation will face formidable obstacles in achieving peace and stability following its declaration of independence.

The panel will bridge London and Juba in this joint video conference event - organised by the Humanitarian Policy Group and the Associate Parliamentary Group for Sudan - where voices from the Government of South Sudan, UK Government, and renowned experts and academics will explore what lies ahead for South Sudan.

IN LONDON

Chair: Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead, Chair, Associate Parliamentary Group for Sudan

· Paul Murphy, Director of Programmes, Saferworld

· Dr Jok Madut Jok, Under Secretary in the Ministry of Culture, Government of South Sudan

IN JUBA

Chair: Dr Sara Pantuliano, Head of the Humanitarian Policy Group, Overseas Development Institute

· Dr Alastair McPhail, British Consul General in Southern Sudan

· Dr Anne Itto, SPLM Deputy Secretary General and Minister of Agriculture, Government of South Sudan

· Professor Alfred Lokuji, University of Juba

The Humanitarian Policy Group is one of the world's leading teams of independent researchers and information professionals working on humanitarian issues. It is dedicated to improving humanitarian policy and practice through a combination of high-quality analysis, dialogue and debate.

The Associate Parliamentary Group on Sudan (APG) is a political campaigning group promoting the cause of peace, human rights, justice and development for the people of Sudan across the political spectrum in Westminster and Whitehall. Based in Westminster, the group has a membership base of nearly 100 British MPs and Peers across political parties.

What Now for Darfur?

Venue: W Room 1, Westminster Hall

Tuesday 28th June, 2011

5.00 - 6.30pm

 
As South Sudan prepares for independence on July 9th, the world's focus has turned to the critical and escalating situations in Abyei and South Kordofan; and the fracturing North-South relations these crises represent. Indeed, the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, recently stated that this violence risks ‘another Darfur situation'. But what has become of the ‘original' Darfur emergency?

This closed parliamentary briefing comes at a time of renewed reports of clashes between government and rebel forces in Darfur and aims to provide the latest operational information on changes to the situation in the region and to suggest analysis accordingly. Speakers will also be invited to comment on what the secession of South Sudan will mean for the Darfur and its ongoing humanitarian crisis.

 Speakers:

- Douwe Dijkstra - North Sudan Programme Director, Tearfund

- Mohamed Gunga - Former human rights lawyer in Khartoum

- Michael Ryder - UK Special Envoy to Sudan and Supervisor of the joint FCO and DfID Sudan Unit.

- Olivia Warham - Director, Waging Peace

Chair: Lord David Chidgey, Vice-Chair APG Sudan

NB: Please note that this meeting is closed and is to be attended by parliamentarians and researchers only.

This event complements a new series by the APG for Sudan which will look closely at the challenges the two newest countries in the world will face in the run up to July 2011 - when South Sudan will officially become independent and the Comprehensive Peace Agreement will expire - and beyond.