UNMIS CPA Monitor
May 2007, Southern Kordofan

A) Geographic Boundaries
259. On 16 August 2005, President Bashir issued a decree declaring the Boundaries of Southern Kordofan State to be the previous boundaries of SouthernKordofan Province as defined in the 1974 Act of the division of provinces. Some parts of Western Kordofan were thus merged into Southern Kordofan. (1/06)

260. Some parts of the boundaries of Southern Kordofan remain unclear pending the resolution of the boundaries of Abyei and the fina demarcation of the 1956 North‐South Border.

B) Administrative Structures
261. On 1 November 2005, the President issued a decree appointing Ismail Khamis Jalab of the SPLM as Governor of Southern Kordofan and Issa Bashari of he NCP as Deputy Governor. The Legislative Council of Southern Kordofan was formed on 12 December 2005 and convened on 22 December 2005. Of its 54 members (30 NCP and 24 SPLM), seven are women. It is chaired by a representative of the NCP.

262. The formation of the Southern Kordofan government was plagued by delays in 2006, mainly due to failure to adopt the state constitution. Disagreement between the NCP and SPLM on this fundamental CPA objective was linked in part to land issues, the management of the state legislature during the interim period, and the relative responsibilities of the national and state constitutions. The resulting partial paralysis of the executive prevented the appointment of ministers and the proper functioning of the legslature. A caretaker government was eventually set up on 7 March 2006 (Annex 40). (8/06)

263. Due to the failure of the sides to settle their differences over the constitution, the issue was taken up by the Presidency, which, on 11 November, took the decision to leave the chairmanship of the Legislative Council with the NCP, the deputy position with the SPLM, and create a new position of “Leader” of the Council, to be filled by the SPLM. On 21 November 2006, the Legislative Council accepted the final draft of the state constitution. On 19 December, the constitution was formally adopted in Kadugli in the presence of Vice President Taha. The work of the Legislative Council, however, is still frozen due to continuing disagreements between NCP and SPLM. (1/07)

264. On 19 February 2007, the Governor dissolved the executive branch of the state government (cabinet, advisors and commissioners of localities). Following the presentation by the two sides of their candidates for these posts, a new Southern Kordofan State Executive was constituted on 27 February, mostly with the same functionaries reassuming office. (2/07)
3 ‐ The Three Areas: Abyei, Southern Kordofan and Blue Nile States
3.2 ‐ Southern Kordofan
The CPA Monitor – May 2007
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265. President Bashir visited Southern Kordofan State on 3‐4 March, focusing mainly on its western areas. In his public pronouncements on the occasion, and in meetings with civil society representatives, he stressed the Governmentʹs intention to make significant additional efforts aimed at addressing the acute development needs of the region. (3/07)

266. On 13 March, following the resolution of outstanding issues over its membership, the Southern Kordofan Legislative Council met for the first time in session since the state constitution was adopted on 19 Decmber. According to Chairman Ibrahim Balandia, the Council discussed the process of setting up permanent committees and the adoption of internal regulations. (3/07)

267. The second session of the Southern Kordofan Legislative Council since the ratification of the state constitution took place in l Fula, the stateʹs second capital, in April. This fulfilled the CPA requirement of alternating legislative sessions between Kadugli and Al Fula. The Legislative Council has created ten permanent committees, the members of which were announced at the session. (4/07)

268. The scheduled rotation of Southern Kordofan State Governorship from SPLM to NCP has not yet taken place. Consultations are said to be continuing between the two Parties. (5/07)

C) Security Arrangements
269. UN Military Observers have been instrumental in assisting the government to monitor and verify the ceasefire. Regular patrols are conducted in all parts of the state to verify the current forces and weapons from both sides. The bi‐weekly CJMC meetings held in Kadugli provide an opportunity for UNMIS to meet with the SPLA and GOS representatives to review ad statute on the complaints of violations. It is also the forum where SOFA violations are raised and discussed with both parties. (8/06)

270. The security situation is relatively calm, but unpredictable. Disputes over land and water resources throughout the state continue to be the main source of conflict between nomads and farmrs, often resulting in death and injury, destruction, and displacement of people. The delay in the formation of the JIUs is a major concern. It is generally felt that this is partly responsible for the increased security threats in the state, where armed groups supported by both parties retain the ability to roam freely.

271. JIU figures in Southern Kordofan stand as follows: with assembly areas: SPLA ‐ 76%, SAF ‐ 64%; without assembly areas: SPLA ‐ 41%, SAF ‐ 56% (2/07)

272. Creation of the JIUs in Southern Kordofan continues to progress slowly. There is no recorded movement in the integration of the GoS and SPLM police services. (3/07)

273. Pre‐registration of PDF (SAF) personnel earmarked for Disarmament and Demobilization was successfully completed in April. Pre‐registration activities are underway for Women Associated with Fighting Forces. (4/07)

D) Returns
274. Estimates of number of returnees to the state since the beginning of 2006 vary greatly and range from 50,000 to 130,000, mainly due to differences in the way the data is collected. IOM, which took over the monitoring and tracking of returnees in Southern Kordofan from the Nuba Mountains Programme for Advancing onflict Transformation/OCHA in January 2006, relies mainly on the tracking of returnees who cross at 5 main entry points to the state, while others, such as CARE and WFP, assess the numbers at the final destinations for food distribution purposes. IOM is considering the use of mobile units in the tracking and monitoring of returnees to improve data collection. (8/06)

275. Since May 2006, Kauda received over 1,000 IDPs from Darfur, who were fleeing fighting and insecurity. Following a coordinated response by the government and the UN and its partners, humanitarian assistance has been delivered to the IDPs. However, their presence has put additional pressure on the already strained available resources in the state which could be further strtched with the prospect of more IDPs if the security situation in Darfur continues to deteriorate. (8/06)

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