The Republic of the Sudan

Sudan is a nation rocked by civil war, famine, and a declining economy. It has had numerous changes in government since independence in 1956. Successive regimes found it difficult to win general acceptance from the country's diverse political constituencies, a situation symbolized by the lack of a formal constituton until 1973. An early conflict arose between those northern leaders who hoped to impose unity upon the nation through the vigorous extension of Islamic law and culture to all parts of the country and those who opposed this policy; the latter included the majority of southerners and those northerners who favored a secular government, since a majority were Christian or animists.

The numerous riots, assassination attempts, and coups demonstrate Sudan’s instability. This has not helped Sudan’s suffering economy. Since its independence in 1956, Sudan has experienced numerous government changes. Also, much of the budget has been spent on the military, which has heavily expanded since 1968.

Sudan's main crops are cotton, peanuts (groundnuts), sesame, gum arabic, durra (a type of sorghum), sugarcane, coffee, and dates. The main subsistence crops are durra and millet, with smaller amounts of wheat, corn, and barley. There are four

distinct subsectors in Sudanese agriculture: modern irrigated farming, most of which is carried out with mechanized equipment on a large scale with the help of government investment; mechanized rain-fed crop production; traditional rain-fed farming; and livestock raising. Sudan has trade agreements with Egypt and other African nations.

While sudan appears on the map as one country, in fact it's composed of a rainbow of ethnic groups and traditions. The Sudanese are divided among 19 major ethnic groups and about 597 subgroups and speak more than 100 languages and dialects.

This has led to frequent conflicts between the groups and often undermined any sense of national unity.

Two sources of division are language and religion. The Arab-speaking north is predominantly Muslim. Other tribes who speak languages of the nilotic family may be Muslim or may not.

Further south, the predominantly Christian and animist groups typically speak neither nilotic or Arabic languages. Rather, they speak languages of the bantu or nilotic group.

Except for the far north, which has an historical tradition associated with a nation state, most Sudanese think along tribal lines. Hence, national politics is not composed of parties but of tribal groups. One can even consider the current civil war as pitting one group of Northern tribes against another of southern ones with tribes switching sides with the ebb and flow of the conflict.

Over the years, The Sudan had attracted a great variety of immigrants, but the most important recent group are West Africans (Hausa, Fulani, and Borno), who are known collectively as the Fellata. Many of the Fellata are employed as seasonal laborers on the country's cotton farms. According to the 1955-56 census, the West Africans constituted 5 percent of the population; in the mid-1970s they were estimated at about 10 percent. These West African immigrants are not part of the civil war. However, in general, the main contributor to the civil war is the non-Muslim peoples’ resentment of the Muslim control of the government. The SPLA, the main rebel group, has been fighting the government since 1973, when President Nemieri imposed Shari’a law in the south.

In 1998 the armed forces of Sudan numbered about 94,700 active personnel. The army had 90,000 members; the navy, 1,700; and the air force, 3,000. Sudan is not a member in any military alliances.

Since 1983 armed rebellion has been conducted by forces of Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) with estimated strength of 50,000 to 60,000 in 1991. SPLA controlled most rural areas of south, government forces holding out under siege conditions in major towns. SPLA armed with light weapons, shoulder-fired antiaircraft missiles, some artillery and rocket launchers, and a few armored vehicles. Government forces assisted by tribal militia groups, which guilty of many atrocities against civilians in south. Government also organizing paramilitary body called Popular Defence Forces.

Most military equipment supplied by Soviet Union, 1968-71; limited cooperation with Soviet Union continued until 1977. Egypt and China subsequently became prominent suppliers. In early 1980s, United States became principal source of aid, notably aircraft, tanks, armored vehicles, and artillery. United States aid sharply reduced in 1983 and formally terminated in 1989. The United States is currently supporting the rebel movements in the south, namely the SPLA.

Sudan can be neatly divided into two countries. If Sudan is split by the 12° Latitude, it would make perfect sense in terms of ethnicity, religion, and language. and September, is about 250 mm (about 10 in). Equatorial climatic conditions prevail in The north country would mainly consist of Arabs and non-Muslim Arabs, while the South will consist of peoples of African origin. Because the latter practice a variety of religions, it prefers a secular government. However, the Islamic northerners insist on a unified Sudan and to enforce Shar’ia law in all of Sudan.

Sudan is bordered by nine nations: Central African Republic, Chad, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Libya, Uganda, and the DR Congo. It is mainly composed of vast plains and plateaus that are drained by the middle and upper Nile River and its tributaries. This river system runs from south to north across the entire length of the east-central part of the country. The immense plain of which The Sudan is composed is bounded on the west by the Nile-Congo watershed and the highlands of Darfur and on the east by the Ethiopian Plateau and the Red Sea Hills ('Atbay). This plain can be divided into a northern area of rock desert that is part of the Sahara; the western Qawz, an area of undulating sand dunes that merges northward into the rock desert; and a central and southern clay plain, the centre of which is occupied by an enormous swampy region known as As-Sudd (the Sudd).

Most of the northern Sudan is a sand- or gravel-covered desert, diversified by flat-topped mesas of Nubian sandstone and islandlike steep-sided granite hills. In the central Sudan the clay plain is marked by inselbergs (isolated hills rising abruptly from the plains), the largest group of which forms the Nuba Mountains (Jibal An-Nubah). The western plain is composed primarily of Nubian sandstones, which form a dissected plateau region with flat-topped mesas and buttes. The volcanic highlands of the Marra Mountains rise out of the Darfur Plateau farther west to altitudes of between approximately 3,000 and 10,000 feet (900 and 3,000 metres) above sea level. These mountains form the Nile-Congo watershed and the western boundary of the central plain.

In the northeastern Sudan, the Red Sea Hills region is an uplifted escarpment. The scarp slope facing the Red Sea forms rugged hills that are deeply incised by streams. The escarpment overlooks a narrow coastal plain that is 10 to 25 miles (16 to 40 kilometres) wide and festooned with dunes and coral reefs. Farther south the eastern uplands constitute the foothills of the Ethiopian highland massif.

In the southern Sudan there are two contrasting upland areas. The Ironstone Plateau lies between the Nile-Congo watershed and the southern clay plain; its level country is marked with inselbergs. On the Uganda border there are massive ranges with peaks rising to more than 10,000 feet. The Imatong Mountains contain Mount Kinyeti (10,456 feet), the highest in Sudan.

Sudan has a tropical climate. Seasonal variations are most sharply defined in the desert zones, where winter temperatures as low as 4°C (40°F) are common, particularly after sunset. Summer temperatures often exceed 40°C (110°F) in the desert zones, and rainfall is negligible. Dust storms, called haboobs, frequently occur. High temperatures also prevail to the south throughout the central plains region, but the humidity is generally low. In the vicinity of Khartoum the average annual temperature is about 27°C (about 80°F); and annual rainfall, most of which occurs between mid-June southern Sudan. In this region the average annual temperature is about 29°C (about 85°F), annual rainfall is more than 1,000 mm (40 in), and the humidity is excessive.

Sudan doesn’t play a leading role in influencing world problems. In most cases, it is opposed to mordenisation and globalisation. This has resulted in Sudan’s poor infrastructure, it’s under-developed state, and its rapidly declining economy. Sudan is drowning in foreign debt, and is straining realtions, if not cutting them of completely, with the western nations. This, again, has worsened its debt situation. In other words, Sudan’s antagonistic approach to other nations has made it increasingly dependent on debt, especially to Germany, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Kuwait, and the United States. Sudan is a member of the United Nations (UN), the Organization of African Unity (OAU), and the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM).

Sudan has usually taken the nonaligned position on many issues, although it strongly resents the American military aggression on Khartoum in 1998. After former President Nemieri strained and/or shattered relations with the Arab nations and the United States, President Al-Bahir is normalizing relations with many of the Arab states. Relations with Libya and Saudi Arabia are reaching new levels. In fact, Sudan and Libya will soon implement the Sert Declaration.

Sudan is one of the poorest and least developed countries in the world, with most of its inhabitants dependent on farming and animal husbandry for their livelihoods. Though its role in the economy has declined in the decades since independence, agriculture still accounts for one-third of The Sudan's gross domestic product (GDP) and more than nine-tenths of its exports, while providing the livelihood of two-thirds of the population. The economy has steadily declined since the late 1970s, when the failure of an ambitious development program left the country with both stagnating agricultural production and a large foreign debt.

Sudan’s monetary unit is the Sudanese dinar (Sd). 1 US$ is worth approximately Sd182.60. Sudan’s currency has been declining over the years, due to its large dependency on foreign aid. In 1998 imports totaled $2.09 billion and exports $717 million. Much of the export revenue is accounted for by cotton lint and cottonseed. Other major exports are gum arabic, sorghum, peanuts, and sesame seeds. The principal imports are machinery, petroleum products, transportation equipment, metal goods, and textiles. The main purchasers of Sudan's exports are Saudi Arabia, the United Kingdom, China, Italy, Japan, and Switzerland; chief sources of imports are Saudi Arabia, South Korea, Germany, and Egypt.

From remote antiquity until relatively recent times the northern portion of the territory comprising modern Sudan formed part of the region known as Nubia. The history of Nilotic, or southern, Sudan before the 19th century is obscure. Egyptian penetration of Nubia began during the period of the Old Kingdom (about 2575-2134 BC). By 1550 BC, when the 18th Dynasty was founded, Nubia had been reduced to the status of an Egyptian province. The region between the Nubian Desert and the Nile River contains numerous monuments, ruins, and other relics of the period of Egyptian dominance, which was ended by a Nubian revolt in the 8th century BC. A succession of independent kingdoms was subsequently established in Nubia. The most powerful of these, Makuria, a Christian state centered at Old Dunqulah and founded in the 6th century AD, endured until the early-14th-century invasion of the Egyptian Mamluks. Another, Alwa, its capital at Soba in the vicinity of present-day Khartoum, was overwhelmed about 1500 by the Funj, black Muslims of uncertain origin, who established a sultanate at Sennar.

In compliance with the provisions of the agreement with the British, the first Sudanese parliamentary elections were held late in 1953. The pro-Egyptian National Unionist Party won a decisive victory. The first all-Sudanese government assumed office on January 9, 1954. Designated "Appointed Day," the date marked the official beginning of the transitional period of "Sudanization," a process of replacing all foreigners in responsible governmental and military posts by Sudanese.

The Republic of Sudan was formally established on January 1, 1956. Egypt and the United Kingdom immediately recognized the new nation. Sudan became a member of the Arab League on January 19 and of the United Nations on November 12.

After a year of military rule, Sadiq al-Mahdi, the great grandson of Muhammad Ahmad, was elected prime minister in the first free election in 18 years. Voting was postponed in 37 southern constituencies, however, due to a guerrilla war led by southern rebels known as the Sudanese People's Liberation Army (SPLA) against the Muslim Arab government. The newly elected assembly was to draft and approve a new constitution and to hold elections every four years. However, severe food shortages, guerrilla unrest, a mounting debt crisis, and other problems weakened the government's power. In June 1989 a military coup headed by Brigadier Omar Hassan al-Bashir toppled the Mahdi government. A state of emergency was imposed, and Sudan was ruled through a 15-member Revolutionary Command Council for National Salvation. Conditions deteriorated in the early 1990s, as the Bashir regime suppressed political opposition and stepped up the war against non-Muslim rebels in the south. In 1993 Bashir took tentative steps toward multiparty democracy, including the dissolution of the military government, but the decision to retain most of his former ministers prompted many to perceive these changes as largely cosmetic.

In January 1994 about 100,000 refugees fled to Uganda when Sudanese troops led an offensive against the SPLA. In March safety zones were established for the transportation of provisions and relief workers to the war-torn south. Throughout 1994 mediators from the Intergovernmental Authority on Drought and Development (IGADD), consisting of representatives from Kenya, Uganda, Ethiopia, and Eritrea, attempted to negotiate a peace agreement between the Sudanese government and the SPLA. In September the negotiations resulted in the creation of the Supreme Council for Peace, an 89-member body with 38 representatives from the rebel-dominated south. In March 1995 former United States president Jimmy Carter moderated a two-month cease-fire in an effort to allow relief workers to treat cases of river blindness and guinea worm disease in the south. The SPLA resumed its attack in July.

In March 1996 Bashir and his supporters swept presidential and legislative elections. Hassan al-Turabi, the head of a powerful Islamic fundamentalist movement called the National Islamic Front and a national spiritual leader, was elected to the National Assembly and made speaker. In April Sudan faced international condemnation after evidence surfaced linking Bashir's government with a June 1995 assassination attempt on Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak in Ethiopia. In May 1996 the United Nations (UN) levied sanctions against Sudan for refusing to extradite to Ethiopia three suspects in the assassination attempt.

By the mid-1990s the SPLA, led by John Garang, a former officer in the Sudanese army, controlled most of southern Sudan and a number of important towns. However, the government maintained control over Juba, a large city in the far south, and several key southern towns along the Nile and the main roads. Although several smaller rebel groups have signed peace agreements with the government, the SPLA has stated that it will accept nothing less than complete independence for southern Sudan. The Sudanese government has accused Ethiopia, Uganda, Eritrea, and Tanzania of aiding the rebels, but these countries have denied the claims. In mid-1998 peace talks, the SPLA and the government tentatively agreed to accept an internationally supervised vote on self-determination in the south. However, no date was set for the vote, and the talks failed to produce a cease-fire. Peace talks continued, but they repeatedly stalled over major issues such as the government's unwillingness to separate state and religion and disagreement over where the boundary between north and south would lie. Several temporary cease-fires were called during this time in support of the peace effort and to facilitate the delivery of humanitarian aid, including the delivery of food and vaccines, to the war-torn south.

In December 1999 a power struggle between Bashir and Turabi came to a head. Turabi attempted to pass constitutional amendments designed to reduce Bashir's presidential powers by calling for the creation of the office of prime minister, accountable to parliament, and the removal of presidential control over the selection of state governors. In response to this threat to his authority, Bashir dismissed Turabi and declared a state of emergency, dissolving the National Assembly and suspending parts of the constitution.

Sudan has been accused of being a safe haven to terrorists. It has been labelled a terrorost-sponsoring state by the US Department of State for serving "as a central hub for several international terrorist groups, including Usama Bin Ladin's al-Qaida organization." Also, Khartoum has allegedly "served as a meeting place, safehaven, and training hub for members of the Lebanese Hizballah, Egyptian Gama'at al-Islamiyya, al-Jihad, the Palistinian Islamic Jihad, HAMAS, and Abu Nidal organization. Sudan's support to these groups included the provision of travel documentation, safe passage, and refuge. Most of the groups maintained offices and other forms of representation in the capital, using Sudan primarily as a secure base for organizing terrorist operations and assisting compatriots elsewhere." Sudan denies all allegations of sponsoring Bin Laden, though it does not see Hizbullah as a terrorist group, but as freedom fighters.

Issue #1: The Question of the Role of the UN Regarding Intervention in a State or a Region for Humanitarian Purposes.

It is stated in the Charter of the United Nations, Article Two, Paragraph Seven, that "nothing contained in the present Charter shall authorize the United Nations to intervene in matters which are essentially within the domestic jurisdiction of any state or shall require the Members to submit such matters to settlement under the present Charter." It is unlawful for any state to intervene into another state for any purpose. Such intervention is illegal according to the Charter of the United Nations. Therefore, Sudan, being a compliant member of international law, strongly opposes intervention of any type. It belittles a nation when another nation intervenes into it. Such intervention obliterates one of a nation’s, especially a poor nation’s, few remaining commodities: National Sovereignty. Sudan strongly cherishes its national sovereignty and hopes that other members of the United Nations defend their respective territorial integrities.

Sudan has been known to support globalisation and the development of information technology, especially in the developing nations of Africa and Southeast Asia. However, Sudan opposes all forms of criminal activity, including those that occur on the World Wide Web. Sudan’s policy is that every nation should be free to censor whatever it deems necessary to censor on the World Wide Web. Although Sudan supports an international legal code to deal with criminal activity, Sudan also feels that banning evils such as pornography is necessary.

Sudan is not heavily dependent on information technology. Before actions to combat cyber-terrorism are made, it is more important to gobalise devloping and under-developed nations, so that all nations can have the needed information technology.

For almost a century, the people of Palestine have fought an endless war to regain their land. Millions of Palestinians have sacrificed their lives for their weel-deserved freedom. However, certain Zionist western nations have supported Israel for many years. Palestine is an independent nation and deserves to be granted membership to the United Nations so that it can have a voice in world issues. It is about time that Palestine is admitted into the United Nations as a full voting member. Upon declaration of statehood on behalf of Arafat, the Palestinian president, there shall be no excuse not to admit Palestine in the United Nations.

Defining Humanitarian Intervention as any physical encroachment on behalf of one state with the affairs of another state for humanitarian reasons;

Fully Alarmed at the aggression of the United States of America upon a pharmaceutical company in Sudan in 1999;

Expressing Its Satisfaction towards the intervention in East Timor in 1999, where the Australian forces intervened only after an invitation by Indonesia;

Noting With Deep Regret the intervention of the United Nations into Iraq, which has resulted in the escalation of the humanitarian crisis in Iraq;

Fully Deploring the humanitarian intervention of Haiti in 1994, authorized by Security Council Resolution 940, which "authorizes Member States to form a multinational force under unified command and control and to use all necessary means to facilitate the departure from Haiti of the military leadership;"

Honorable delgates, Mr. President, Saba7 il-Khair.

Sudan would like to welcome all delegates to 33rd session of CACMUN. Our world is fraught with problems, ranging from political disputes in Jammu and Kashmir to the murdering famine in southern Sudan.

The Republic of Sudan would like to highlight the issue of terrorism. As everybody knows, terrorism is growing before our very eyes, and previous measures to resolve it have failed. However, a certain nation regularly carries out terrorism deceptively. And that nation, honorable delegates, is not in the Middle East. It is not Iran, Iraq, or Libya that are responsible for terrorism, but it is a certain namable western nation that constantly uses force, or terrorism, to compel any country that stands up to it.

Sudan hopes that this session of the General Assembly will solve the issue of terrorism. Not the terrorism that the Zionist western nations accuse us of, but the real terrorism that ignored by the United Nations.

As delegate of Sudan at CACMUN 2000, I believe that I have achieved all of the goals set for my country. First of all, during lobbying and merging, many of my allies were not present (Iran, Iraq, DPR Korea, Cuba, Libya). Therefore, I merged with other nations on the first issue. The second day, I wrote a new resolution from scratch on the spot. After that, I had about thirty minutes to obtain co-sponsors. I did so, and submitted my resolution to the Approval Panel. Later that day, my MUN Director informed me that only my resolution on Issue #3 was considered, and wasn’t even prioritized. The directors’ views were that they could not believe that Sudan and Iran could carry out this resolution, while Israel could.

In the first meeting, the resolution submitted by Bosnia and the United States was debated. As Sudan, I was strongly against this resolution, since it called for immediate intervention in any nation during times of genocide and famine. As a result of this resolution, the United Nations would have the right to intervene in Sudan because of the famine. I was allowed to speak twice only. At the beginning of the debate, I made a speech pointing out that the resolution was a gross violation of national sovereignty. I continued to pint out its flaws, until I had to yield the floor to the chair. I then listened to several arguments FOR the resolution, and decided that it was time for the chairs to select someone against. They did not, all the speakers until the end of the debate time were for, although I was raising my placard every single time they asked for speakers. They did allow me to make a final speech against it at the end, in which I spoke vehemently against it. At the end, the resolution was passed, which was understandable, since almost all of the speeches were for it.

In between sessions, my director pointed out that they were only selecting those delegates who have proposed amendments, so the only way to get the floor was to write a poor amendment, have it fail, and then regain the floor. The next resolution was about Issue #2, submitted by Hungary and New Zealand. Although It did not readily address the issue of censorship of pornography, it proposed effective solutions to the problem of Internet hacking. I spoke many times during that resolution, strongly supporting it. I had proposed an amendment, failed it, and regained the floor. I then proceeded to point out the strong points of the resolution, and took all points of information. During the rest of debate time, I spoke for the resolution at least five times, continuing to support it. All this floor time was a result of yielding. All the delegates speaking for knew that I was a strong supporter of the resolution, and knew that the Chair was not going to pick me again, so they yielded to me without my request. At my final speech, I believed that I exhausted all methods in supporting the resolution, and it was time for voting. After a final speaker was taken, the resolution was voted upon. The resolution was failed.

Next, another resolution on Issue #2 was debated (submitted by Israel). I spoke against it twice because it was flawed and missing many points. However, at the end, it was passed. Another resolution submitted by Israel on Issue #3 was debated, and it was heavily flawed. I had a yielding plan with many of my BBS counterparts, and after Zimbabwe received the floor, she yielded to me. I spoke against it for a long time, pointing out that voting for this resolution "would be a crime." I went clause by clause, virtually destroying the resolution. The basis of many of my arguments was that Israel was making many promises in this resolution that it has broken before. After my speech, almost all of the delegates were supporting my ideas, and were heavily amending the resolution. After major amendments were passed, the co-submission list was opened. During that time, ALL of the submitters of the resolutions removed their names from the list, including Israel and the United States. Voting for the resolution was then administered, and, except for Czech Republic, who abstained, the resolution failed unanimously! For the final resolution submitted by the Palestinian National Authority, I never received the floor, but voted for the resolution, since it was within Sudan’s policy.

In conclusion, I believe that I have represented Sudan well at the conference. Everything that I did was well within character for Sudan, and I got as much speaking time possible. Although none of my resolutions were debated, I had very strong arguments (for or against) all the resolutions debated.