A group of aid agencies have urged the international community to take rapid action in Sudan, to prevent a peace agreement signed five years ago from failing. Oxfam Novib in the Netherlands says the situation could escalate into conflict, as the UN reports 140 people have been killed there in the past week alone.

Ten aid organisations compiled the document on south Sudan, which experienced an escalation of violence in 2009. Suying Lai, a policy adviser for Oxfam Novib in the Hague, told Radio Netherlands Worldwide that 2,500 people were killed and a further 350,000 fled their homes:

“We are very concerned this trend will continue and the situation will deteriorate. This cannot happen.”

North-South divide

In 2005, the Sudanese government in the north struck an agreement with the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM) in the south, ending two decades of civil war in the divided country. Sudan is due to go to the polls next year but the SPLM is blaming President Omar al-Bashir’s government of stirring up tension ahead of the election. Oxfam Novib and the report’s co-authors say it is crucial the country is stabilised before the vote:

“In 2011 there will be a referendum in which the south of Sudan can decide whether it wants to remain part of Sudan or whether it wants to secede. And we want to ensure the current situation, which is very unstable and dangerous, doesn’t deteriorate further. We want to make sure unresolved issues in the peace agreement are resolved, and make sure South Sudan, which is desperately poor and in need of development, receives the assistance it deserves.”

Lack of development

One of the main issues affecting southern Sudan is the lack of development. Less than half the population has access to clean drinking water and infant mortality rates are among the highest in the world. Francis Roque, from Save the Children in south Sudan, says:

“People hoped the peace would bring economic benefits and development, but this has happened far too slowly and in some areas not at all.”

New UN focus

There are UN peacekeepers working in Sudan but the aid agencies say they need to shift their focus from ensuring the two parties from the north and south meet the obligations set out in the peace agreement:

“It did not see its primary task was to protect civilians. And because of the deteriorating security situation, we’re asking UN peacekeeping forces to re-orientate themselves and make the protection of civilians their top priority. Before the peacekeeping mission can change its mandate, of course the Security Council will need to act. And of course all the countries concerned about the fate of Sudan – including the Netherlands – could put pressure on the Security Council.”