Addis Ababa - The African Union (AU) Peace and Security Council has called on all parties and all Sudanese to continue to demonstrate the same commitment towards the successful conclusion of the ongoing process of the referendum for South Sudan.
A statement from the AU headquarters said the council, at its 256th meeting on Monday, called on all parties and all Sudanese to be committed to the implementation of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement and the post-referendum arrangements.
The council encouraged the Sudanese parties to continue to extend the necessary co-operation to the AU High Level Implementation Panel on Sudan (AUHIP) and it expressed appreciation to the parties for their commitment to respect the outcome of the referendum and the will of the Sudanese people.
It also reiterated the AU's commitment, as one of the guarantors of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement signed by north and southern Sudan in 2005, to fully respect the result of the Referendum, whatever the outcome.
It also reiterated its commitment to accompany all the parties and Sudanese people, in general, in the journey that they have embarked on towards sustainable peace, economic development and democratic transformation.
The council emphasised that the holding of the referendum was further testimony to the capacity of the Sudanese parties, with genuine international support, to address the challenges facing their country.
It noted with appreciation the deployment of a sizeable team of electoral observers by the AU and its Member States, and called on all the observer missions to effectively monitor the proceedings.
The referendum, being held from 9 to 15 January, as provided for under the Comprehensive Peace Agreement, is to enable the people of South Sudan to decide whether to remain part of one country or to become a separate state.
