Agreement On Citizenship Reached

According to the Minister, the semi-autonomous Government of Southern Sudan (GoSS) and the National Government agreed that those Southerners who wish to remain in the North can become citizens of the North if they so wish. Northerners in the South can equally be granted Southern citizenship rights if they so choose: “We have agreed that Northerners in the South and Southerners in the North will have their rights respected and be given citizenship if they choose, after the declaration of the results”.

Northern merchants in Malakal -          UN Photo / Tim McKulka

The Minister further assured that those who own properties on either side of the border will have full ownership rights and should be given the necessary protection by the state in both countries.

This latest development by the two Governments will be reassuring to citizens, especially to Southerner returnees who still own properties in the North, and to the many Northerners with business interests in the South. Many such traders have no desire to go back to the North, because they now identify themselves as Southerners, either by birth or after living for a long time in the South.

“My grandfather started a business here, we grew up here in Juba, how can I be a Northerner when I did not know anyone there? This agreement is good,” said Al-Tayeb Mustafa, a 28-year-old Juba University graduate of Northern descent.

President Omar Hassan Al Bashir had previously said in an interview with the the Aljazeera television network that dual citizenship would be ruled out. He argued that Sudan should remain united if the Southerners wanted to live in the North: “If they [Southerners] decide to divide Sudan into two states and establish their own country in South Sudan, and at the same time want to retain their citizenship in North Sudan and enjoy all the rights [..], if this is their desire then let Sudan remain united”.

Get more background information on the issue from the German Institute for International and Security Studies

The move by the leaders to allow free choice of citizenship is seen by many political observers as a positive move towards consolidation and maintaining good relations between the two countries. If Southern secession goes ahead, the two nations will depend on each other, especially in the areas of oil export and trade.

GoSS President Salva Kiir Mayardit, who is also First Vice President of the Republic, called on the citizens of Southern Sudan to live in harmony with their brothers from the North, during the recent announcement of preliminary referendum results in Juba. He told the crowd, “If South Sudan separates from the North, we shall still be twins, see Northerners as your brothers”, suggesting concerted efforts are now being made for inter-state cooperation.