Sudan

DEVELOPMENT

Fears of further violence in Sudan are currently generating many news headlines because of the looming January 2011 deadline for the referendum on southern independence.

THE African Union has declared 2010 the Year of Peace and Security in Africa and will soon launch the African Decade of Women. What better opportunity to act on these pledges than at the 15th African Union Summit, being held later this month in Kampala, Uganda?

15 October 2010 - (Juba) – The United Nations development project, UNDP has pledged to support women to enhance their participation in the 2011 referendum.

Speaking at the Southern Sudan Women's conference on the 2011 referendum in Juba on Thursday, UNDP country director, Mister Claudia Caldarone said they have set aside funds to ensure that women fully participate in the referendum process.

Southern Sudanese women drew referendum plans to ensure their effective participation in 2011 vote on self-determination.

Women from the ten states of southern Sudan and the Diaspora closed today in Juba a three-day conference about their role in the upcoming referendum.

In southern Sudan preparations are underway for the referendum scheduled for January 9 that will decide whether that part of the country secedes from the north. Part of the preparations for the vote, and for a possible future state, include training a regional police force.

Two Sudanese Women's Rights Activists spoke about the challenges of civil society in Sudan, and their commitment to continue working with Sudanese women from the North and South through the upcoming referendum.

“We, the women of Darfur, have united to heal the wounds. We have built our power. It is time for the Darfurian movements to unite."

Kigali — The Commissioner General of Police, Emmanuel Gasana, yesterday met a contingent of female police officers who are soon to be deployed on the United Nations Mission in Darfur (UNAMID) and challenged them to raise the image of the country and act professionally while on the mission.

October 13, 2010 (JUBA) – The votes of southern Sudanese women in January's self-determination referendum will be a determining factor in the outcome, says the Vice President of the regional government, Riek Machar.

A three-day conference on women and the 2011 referendum was convened today at the Southern Sudan Legislative Assembly building in Juba by the Office of the President of the Government of Southern Sudan (GoSS) and the GoSS Ministry of Gender, Child and Social Welfare.