Statement of the Sudan Catholic Bishops Conference

STATEMENT OF THE SUDAN CATHOLIC BISHOPS’ CONFERENCE
TO THE PRESIDENCY ON THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE COMPREHENSIVE PEACE AGREEMENT

July 25, 2006

His Excellency the President of the Republic of the Sudan
Field Marshal, Omar Hassan Ahmed El Bashir,
And the Presidency

Preamble:

We, the Catholic Bishops of the Sudan, gathered in Juba the capital of Southern Sudan for our annual plenary,
Mindful of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) which makes it possible for us to meet as full plenary of Bishops inside the Sudan after 22 years;

Cognizant of the vision, mission and values stated in our 1997 document that the Sudan should be a country in which, basic human rights and freedoms are fully respected, defended and promoted not only by law but also in practice;

Conscious of our roles as religious leaders of the people of the Sudan to give spiritual guidance and direction; and
Delighted by the promulgation of the Interim National Constitution and Interim Constitution of Southern Sudan that had paved the way for the formation of the Government of National Unity (GONU) and the Government of Southern Sudan (GOSS), Nuba Mountains and Southern Blue Nile, all of which are steps necessary for various levels of governments to operate within the constitutional frame-work of democratic process, accountability, transparency, good governance and the rule of law;

Do hereby convey our gratitude to Your Excellencies in the presidency for putting in place some of the institutions, and in the course of our deliberations, the following issues were expressed as matters of concern by the conference:

1) Governance:

We have observed that the efforts being exerted by the Government to enforce law and order is minimal as indicated by the rampant prevalence of violent conflicts in many parts of the country. The conference has also expressed that corruption, which is an invisible enemy of peace in public offices and the society as a whole, is a matter of great concern.

2) Church Status

The Church with its holistic ministry for spreading the gospel and peace in Sudan and the entire world has a right to be recognized as guaranteed by the Bill of Rights and Freedoms in the Interim National Constitution of the Sudan. The Church should therefore be respected and protected by the State. In this regard, the parties to the CPA had agreed to create a process to resolve conflict on land issues by developing and amending legislations that reflect customary laws and practice as mentioned in the protocol on wealth sharing. We, therefore, call upon the government to look into the claims of the Church regarding the properties confiscated by the Government in different periods and places in the Sudan. As such, these properties should be redressed through restoration and compensation.

3) Abyei:

We are alarmed by the outright rejection by the Government of some of the aspects of the CPA in relation to the Protocol on Abyei. There is a clear rejection by the Government of National Unity-GONU led by the National Congress Party, a partner to the CPA, to implement the Abyei Boundary Commission-ABC recommendations. Furthermore, up to now the administration of Abyei is not yet set up. Thus, there is virtually no Government to maintain law and order in the area.

4) Status of Administration of Khartoum:

While the CPA provides for a shared administration of Khartoum as the national capital of the Sudan by the parties to the Agreement, the National Congress Party has refused to honor their commitment, a thing that is disappointing.

5) The Independent Commissions in GONU:

While the CPA provides for the formation of Independent Commissions, it is noted with great concern that most of the Independent Commissions have not been formed, nor equitably representative which is a contravention of the Protocol on Power Sharing.

6) Status of the armed forces and presence of armed groups in Sudan:

We welcome the redeployment of the army that has taken place, though the Sudan Armed Forces are not doing it as expected. There is an indication of the government’s non-compliance in the time frame for redeployment and the destruction of crops, cutting down of fruit trees, destruction of water pumps and burning of stores, an act that is tantamount to scorched earth policy. We therefore call upon the Government to speed up the redeployment of the Sudan Armed Forces to help in maintenance of security.

We, the Catholic bishops, also regret the presence of other armed groups inside Sudan, for instance, the pro-government militias, Lord’s Resistant Army-LRA and the Ambororo herdsmen. This causes insecurity in Southern Sudan. However, we appreciate the mediation role being undertaken by GOSS between the Government of Uganda and the LRA. We call upon the presidency to exert more efforts towards the peaceful settlement to the conflict so that peace could prevail in northern Uganda and Southern Sudan.

7) Darfur:

We welcome the recent efforts made to the Darfur peace negotiations by the Government in Abuja-Nigeria under the auspices of the African Union. Although the Abuja Peace Agreement has been supported by the African Union, UN and the international community, the Darfur factions on the ground are divided and the conflict appears to be escalating. We therefore call upon the government to accept the UN resolution to deploy the UN Peace Keeping Force in Darfur to replace the African Union Forces.

8) Eastern Sudan:

We welcome and encourage the signing of the Declaration of Principles (DOP) to the conflict in Eastern Sudan and offer our prayers for the parties to start negotiations to end the conflict.