Sudan’s 2011 Referendum and Beyond

The upcoming 2010 elections and 2011 referendum in Sudan are the culminating events of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) between the National Congress Party and the Sudanese People's Liberation Movement. However, looking at 2011 and beyond, there is increasing concern that Sudan may revert to violence rather than move forward toward the sustainable peace envisioned by the CPA.

In August USIP published a Special Report titled "Scenarios for Sudan: Avoiding Political Violence Through 2011." The report laid out three possible paths the country may follow in coming years, recognizing that there are many more potential trajectories. Several other recent reports have also looked into Sudan's future. A common thread among them are concerns about the impact and management of the coming referendum process, questions about the potential for return to civil war, and concerns about the state of planning for the governance of a post-2011 Sudan and management of complex issues such as wealth and resource sharing and debt.

This panel explored how Sudan - whether it is one country or two - may look following the referendum and steps that can be taken by Sudanese and the international community to minimize violence before and after the referendum.

Panelists

Dr. Jok Madut Jok
Department of History, Loyola Marymount University
Amb. Nureldin Satti
Independent consultant, former UN Deputy Special Representative to Burundi
Dr. Raymond Gilpin
Associate Vice President, Center for Sustainable Economies, United States Institute of Peace
Jon Temin, Moderator
United States Institute of Peace