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Waat Lou Nuer Covenant

Waat, Sudan

6 November 1999

 

The Lou Nuer met in a People-to-People Peace and Governance Conference in Waat, Sudan under the auspices of the New Sudan Council of Churches (NSCC) from 1-7 November 1999. Delegates came from all districts in addition to Lou who came from Malakal, Khartoum and foreign countries.

Today, we declare an end to years of internal conflicts among our people, battles between different factions, and at least three different military forces and civil administrations. Our internal strife has made us vulnerable to conflicts with our neighbors on every side, and the Government of Sudan has armed various groups within our midst to stir up confusion and destruction. We have sealed this Covenant, with its included Resolutions, by the traditional sacrifice of a White Bull (Tu-Bor) and with Christian worship.

We have met to establish a lasting peace, to build a common system of governance and to appeal to others to join us in rebuilding our communities and spreading this peace and reconciliation to all of south Sudan.

We have agreed to the following:-

Peace

An end to all conflicts among Lou Nuer
Amnesty for offenses against persons and property prior to 1 November 1999
A call to all Lou people to return to home areas and embrace the peace
Extending the hand of peace to Gaawar Nuer to our west and Jikany Nuer to our East. We stand ready to resolve any outstanding issues and build a permanent peace.
Extending the hand of peace to all neighbouring people on the East Bank of the Nile. With the NSCC, we invite all Nilotic peoples on the East Bank of the Nile to send delegations in February 2000 for a People-to-People peace conference.

Governance

Strongly urge our political and military leaders to construct civil and military governance systems that will unite all Nuer people and contribute to a reconciled and united south Sudan. This system must be outside the control of the Government of Sudan or persons working in Government of Sudan controlled areas of the country.
A separation of civil and judicial administration from the military administration;
Empowerment of chiefs to handle all local judicial cases and a rebuilding of the civil judicial system;
Establishment of a police system that will maintain order within our communities and be accountable to the civil administration;
Instruct all civil administrators to be accountable for their areas, to the people, and to work in a close and transparent manner with indigenous and international NGOs;
Require the regular military and the White Army to demobilize all children under age fifteen;
Commit ourselves to development of water resources that enable us to have permanent communities, the establishment of schools for our children, health care for our people, and food to sustain ourselves all year.

Appeals from Lou Nuer

To all Nuer: Appeal for unity, peace and shared responsibility for security within a unified political administration.
To all Neighbors: We declare a unilateral, permanent cease-fire and express our desire to build peace with our neighbors.
To all Southerners: We appeal for an unending commitment to unite south Sudan so that security is assured, our political objectives are realized and our rights protected.
To all Friends of South Sudan: We appeal for partners who will help us rebuild our communities, strengthen our civil administration, and provide support for our common security.

A Word of Promise: We will protect this peace against anyone from within our ranks or who would come against us from the outside attempting to destroy our unity and peace. For this peace we are willing to die so that our children may live in peace and enjoy this good land that God has given to us.

 

 

NSCC Official Version

8 November, 1999

   

 

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Last modified: March 12, 2001