[Lee Jae-min] A new start for South Sudan

The establishment of South Sudan last weekend sowed a seed of new hope. For the seed to bear fruit, wholehearted assistance from the international community is crucial.


A major breakup occurred over the weekend and this one was very peaceful. The southern part of Sudan seceded from the country and went independent. The Republic of South Sudan was thus established on July 9 with the attendance of many heads of state and global leaders including U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon. President Lee Myung-bak of Korea also dispatched a special envoy to attend the independence celebration.

So the wish of the people in the region has been fully fulfilled, a wish so strong as to register 98.8 percent “yes” votes in the independence referendum this past January. The capital of the world’s newest country will be Juba. In case one wonders, South Sudan is the same country where the late Father Lee tae-seok dedicated his life, as depicted in the documentary “Don’t Cry, Tonj” last year.

With the independence of South Sudan, the number of states in the world now reaches 195. When Kosovo is added the number will be 196.

Once a new state is established, the next critical step is “recognition” whereby other states “recognize” the new state as a new member of the international community by establishing bilateral diplomatic relations. As evidenced by Kosovo, whose status as a state is still being challenged, this process is sometimes complex and time-consuming.

Remarkably, recognition from the international community has been quite quick in the case of South Sudan. Dozens of states, including the United States, China, the United Kingdom, France and Russia, have already recognized the new country. Likewise, the U.N. General Assembly is expected to invite this new country as its 193rd member sometime soon.

Two things caught the attention of the international community in the course of this transition period. One is that the Sudanese president also attended the independence celebration. He not only attended, but also congratulated on the independence. The other is that Sudan was also the first country to recognize South Sudan as a new state by providing official recognition on July 8. As the independence here was from Sudan after decades-old military conflicts, this blessing from Khartoum was a pleasant surprise.

What transpired last weekend in eastern Africa is yet another example of the successful brokerage of major powers and the U.N. following their roles in managing the crisis in Cote d’Ivoire surrounding its 2010 presidential election.

The United States engaged Khartoum and Juba to sign the Comprehensive Peace Agreement in 2005, where a framework for peaceful resolution of the conflict was put in place. The U.N. then ensured that the two sides abided by the terms and conditions of the CPA, paving the road to the peaceful secession of last weekend. In the process, the two sides were persuaded that peaceful resolution would serve the interests of both sides. The blessing from Khartoum is the outcome of this realization.

They are interdependent in many ways: South Sudan has oil reserves and Sudan controls the oil pipelines for export. The CPA contains provisions on how to share the oil revenues. This win-win situation from peaceful resolution was again underscored by Secretary General Ban in his July 7 article for the New York Times.

The peaceful secession will set an important precedent for conflict resolution in this region. If former nemeses can agree upon a scheme of co-existence and the scheme does work out, other disputants in other conflicts may seriously contemplate similar options. Perhaps this is why the international community should see to it that this experiment in Sudan turns out to be a successful one.

Many countries are looking at this new oil-rich country with a lot of interest. South Sudan is also expecting foreign investment to boost its development. In fact, the Investment Promotion Act was included in the first batch of legislation of the new country. The focus of the international support for South Sudan should not be how to take advantage of vast natural resources of this infant country, but how to turn it into another success story of development.

The establishment of South Sudan last weekend sowed a seed of new hope. For the seed to bear fruit, wholehearted assistance from the international community is crucial. 

By Lee Jae-min 

Lee Jae-min is a professor of law at the School of Law, Hanyang University, in Seoul. Formerly he practiced law as an associate attorney with Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP. ― Ed.