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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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