Upon his return from the 68th Annual United Nations General Assembly Meeting in New York, the Vice President of South Sudan reaffirmed his country's position on holding the Abyei referendum this October.

Khartoum opposes the referendum initially outlined by the African Union High Level Implementation Panel (AUHIP). It would exclude the majority of the nomadic Misseriya who spend a few months of each year in Abyei for grazing. The Dinka Ngok who reside in Abyei were granted the right to vote by Juba.

Vice President James Wani Igga said in a press statement “On Abyei, we made our stand. The position of the people and the government of South Sudan is namely that we want to see a full implementation of the Abyei protocol: accepting and adhering to the proposal of the AUHIP for the referendum to take place in October 2013”.

He noted that, while in the US, his delegation had the opportunity to address South Sudanese who demonstrated in front of UN building in New York demanding for a timely referendum in Abyei.

“Indeed we shared with them the sentiments of their fellow South Sudanese back at home, particularly the people of Abyei whose fate is a matter of concern to us as a people, as a government and the International community at large”, said Igga.

The Vice President also spoke about South Sudanese domestic issues such as elections in 2015 and census: “Last month our President announced that elections will take place in 2015, and that the electoral and census commissions will be facilitated to ensure everything happens as scheduled. The UN has been informed about it.”

During their visit to the UN headquarters, the South Sudanese delegation “cleared reservations and doubts in the minds of attendees” concerning the recent government reshuffle in the country. Igga assured this was a “normal activity any government could do to strengthen good governance and fulfill the will of the people”, claiming the reshuffle won the support of an overwhelming majority of attendees.

The South Sudanese delegation to New York included also the Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Barnaba Marial Benjamin, Minister of Finance and Economic Planning Aggrey Tisa Sabuni, and Minister of Gender Child and Social Welfare Mrs Awut Deng Achuil.

News photo: Vice President James Wani Igga