AFRICA/SUDAN - Elections need to stabilize peace and encourage development, says Caritas

Khartoum (Agenzia Fides) – Caritas says elections in Sudan need to stabilize peace and encourage development. Further violence would set back the peace process, threaten relief operations and put millions of people at risk of poverty, death and desperation. Fr. Pierre Cibambo, Africa Liaison Officer for Caritas Internationalis, said, “The elections need to be a step towards a stable peace and development for Sudan. It is imperative to ensure free, fair and inclusive elections. The provisions of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement must be implemented fully and faithfully. All parties must abstain from violence.”
The 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement ended decades of war between north and south, but much more needs to be done to ensure all Sudanese can live in dignity and peace. At least 2.7 million people remain displaced and need to be reintegrated into society. A major food crisis hit the south in 2009, leaving one out of two children suffering from malnutrition. Caritas is present throughout Sudan. In Darfur, Caritas is helping 350,000 people, including 240,000 who have lost their homes, with clean water, healthcare, peace building and livelihoods. Caritas is also supporting 58,000 Sudanese refugees living in camps in Eastern Chad. In Southern Sudan, Caritas is providing food aid, seeds and food for work to 35,000 people until the 2010 harvest, especially in the Ezo, Tombura and Nagero areas, which are too remote or dangerous for other aid agencies to work in. (SL) (Agenzia Fides 10/04/2010)