Events Detail

Hudson Institute's Center for Religious Freedom and Voices for Sudan held a discussion of

Perspectives on Sudan's Upcoming Elections

 

with Dave Peterson, Gafar O. Kangam, and Khalid Gerais

 

Monday, March 15, 2010
12:30 – 1:30 P.M.

 

In April, Sudan is scheduled to hold national elections in the midst of a tense peace between North and South and an ongoing conflict in the western province of Darfur.  These elections represent a critical test for the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement that ended a 20-year conflict between the Muslim North and the mainly Christian and traditional South Sudan. Sudanese throughout the country will vote for a president, parliament, and state governors, while southerners will also vote for their regional president and parliament.  If free and fair, these elections -- the first genuine multi-party national elections since 1986 -- will represent a milestone in the implementation of this peace agreement. They will also provide insight into the prospects for a successfully held referendum on secession for South Sudan in early 2011. From their various perspectives, our panel of experts discussed these issues and others.

 

 

Dave Peterson is the Senior Director of the Africa Program of the National Endowment for Democracy. Since 1988, he has been responsible for NED's program to identify and assist hundreds of African non-governmental organizations and activists working for democracy, human rights, freedom of the press, justice, and peace. He was formerly executive director of Project South Africa of the A. Philip Randolph Educational Fund, and a freelance journalist in Africa and Turkey. He has visited more than 40 African countries since 1984, and has published numerous articles on African politics.

 

Gafar O. Kangam is a board member of Nuba Mountain International Association and co-founder of Voices for Sudan, a Sudanese-led advocacy group. Gafar lived in the Nuba Mountains until 1991, when he was transported at the age of 11 along with others from his village. In 2002, he became a member of the Nuba Mountain International Association, and moved from Beirut to the United States. Mr. Kangam works to bring awareness about the plight of the Nuba Mountains population and of all the marginalized people of Sudan to diverse audiences in the United States.

 

Khalid Gerais is a human rights activist and co-founder of Nubia Project, a coalition partner of Voices for Sudan.  Khalid has given a number of lectures on Kush Heritage and participated in many advocacy activities on Sudanese issues. In particular, he has been an advocate for the protection of the Nubian people, and for the preservation of their land, culture, and language. As part of Voices for Sudan, he participated in a briefing on Sudan at the State Department.

 

 

 

For more information, please email Beth Kerley at bkerley@hudson.org

 

Betsy and Walter Stern Conference Center

Hudson Institute

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