1. The Nuba are part and parcel of
the SPLA/M and are committed to the SPLA/M position on peace in Sudan
presented to various IGAD meetings.
2. The Nuba strongly support the
IGAD Declaration of Principles and the maturing IGAD peace process.
3. The Nuba are central to the
Sudanese conflict and hold the key to vital questions of ethnic rights and
religious tolerance.
4. The Nuba people demand the
right of self determination. The Nuba people are entitled to this
international human right for the following reasons:
4.1 Because of their long
history of being treated as second-class citizens in Sudan.
4.2 Because of the threat of
genocide that hangs over them.
4.3 Because of their long and
bitter struggle for their right of justice and equality.
4.4 Because the right of
self-determination has been recognised for south Sudan.
4.5 Because they were
administered as a ‘closed district’ along with south Sudan (and also
south Blue Nile) from 1922 onwards.
5. The Nuba right to
self-determination must be recognised to achieve a genuine and comprehensive
settlement to the long-running conflict in Sudan.
6. The Nuba are not demanding
secession. The Nuba demand the right to choose in their own right.
7. The Nuba’s preferred option
is the unity of the Sudan, with the Nuba enjoying self-government within a
decentralised system.
8. During the interim period
between the signing of a Peace Agreement and the final exercise of
self-determination, the Nuba demand the following:
8.1 To be treated equally with
south Sudan and in parallel in any peace deal.
8.2 Interim self-administration
of the Nuba Mountains under the SPLA/M on the same terms as South Sudan.
8.3 A secular, pluralist and
democratic regional administration.
8.4 International guarantees for
the future of the Nuba as an integral part of any peace deal from the
outset.
8.5 The presence of ensure
respect of human rights and the free and fair conduct of the exercise of the
right of self-determination.
8.6 The Nuba people will
exercise their international monitors to right of self-determination
separately after the people of South Sudan have made their decision in an
internationally-monitored referendum.
9. The Nuba respect the
inalienable right of the people of South Sudan to self-determination. The
future of South Sudan is a matter for southern Sudanese.
9.1 The Nuba would prefer for the
South to remain in a united Sudan. But in the case of the people of South
Sudan opting through a democratic process to secede from Sudan, the Nuba will
respect that choice.
9.2 In the case of the people of
South Sudan opting for separation in the exercise of their right to
self-determination, the Nuba will have the following options:
(i). To choose to be part of
Southern Sudan state, or
(ii). To choose to be part of
the Northern Sudan state, or
(iii). To choose to have an
independent statehood.
10. The Nuba call for the
implementation of impartial relief and development programmes during the
interim period.
11. Both the humanitarian and
political positions narrated in this Clarification apply to the people of
South Blue Nile. South Blue Nile is therefore entitled to a deal on the same
terms as the Nuba.
1. The Nuba people are in a
critical humanitarian situation. Our people are still dying of hunger and
disease, as well as from government attacks, landmines and aerial bombardment
including cluster bombs.
2. The Sudanese government
continues to deny access to UN humanitarian relief agencies despite a promise
to UN Secretary General Kofi Annan in May 1998 to allow Operation Lifeline
Sudan (OLS) to go to the Nuba Mountains.
The international community should
put pressure upon the Sudanese government to allow humanitarian access by all
relief organisations and mainly by the OLS to all areas of the Nuba Mountains
including areas controlled by the SPLA.
