(WASHINGTON) — (ST) August 16, 2010, the U.S. special envoy to Sudan Scott Gration is headed to the region for a two week visit that will focus mainly on the preparations for the referendum in South Sudan that is scheduled for early next year.
The U.S. State department said that Gration will hold talks with senior leaders of the Government of Sudan and Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM) “to discuss implementation of the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA), preparations for the January 2011 referenda on self-determination for Southern Sudan and Abyei, and negotiations on issues relating to the period after the CPA”.
“He will also initiate a broader dialogue regarding security, conflict mitigation, and planning for the post-referendum period. The Special Envoy will discuss security and stabilization efforts in Darfur with Sudanese officials, former President of South Africa and Chairperson of the African Union High Level Implementation Panel for Sudan Thabo Mbeki, and UNAMID Joint Special Representative Ibrahim Gambari,” the statement read.
The contentious referendum process stipulated by the CPA is running well behind schedule and a postponement is widely anticipated.
Yesterday, the head of the referendum commission Mohamed Ibrahim Khalil accused the five southerners were voting as a block to prevent any northerner taking the key post of secretary-general, a principle he said he could not accept.
Khalil said that he would resign should the deadlock continues which would deal a serious blow to the referendum timetable.
The SPLM insists that they will not accept any rescheduling to the key vote and suggested that it may resort to a unilateral declaration of independence, something the North says amounts to a declaration of war.
The United States has reportedly decided in a recent meeting of senior administration officials to endorse a plan by Gration to focus on the referendum and place the crisis in Darfur as a low priority on its agenda.
The U.S. special envoy was also reported to be considering taking an ambassadorial position in Nairobi but nothing formal has been announced yet.
Gration is scheduled to participate in the Southern Sudan Agricultural Conference which will take place in Kenya in his upcoming tour.
