Please note this is a transcript from UN radio - hence the references to sound effects and sound bytes
Voting materials and training kits for the Southern Sudan referendum are arriving in the country ahead of next year's plebiscite. On Janaury 9, the people of South Sudan will vote on whether to secede from the rest of the country, while the residents of the central area of Abyei will vote on whether to be part of the north or the south. Jocelyne Sambira has more.
Sfx forklift moving boxes fade out
NARRATOR: Boxes of voting material are being fork lifted into a warehouse for storage in Khartoum, the capital of North Sudan under the watchful eyes of the Southern Sudanese Referendum Officials.
The referendum material, printed in Shanghai, China, is arriving ahead of next year's vote scheduled for January 9th.
The boxes also include training kits and books needed to kick off the registration process in November.
A similar shipment of referendum materials has also arrived in Juba, the capital of South Sudan.
Awad Taha is the Deputy Director of Operations for the Southern Sudan Referendum Commission:
"I am glad that actually we received registration materials, which means that we can start our operational plan to open registration centers in all northern states. And I think the process is going on well."
NARRATOR: The next few months will be crucial for Sudan as it prepares to hold two referenda on self-determination in January. The people of South Sudan will vote on whether to secede from the rest of the country, while the residents of the central area of Abyei will vote on whether to be part of the north or the south.
It will be the final phase in the implementation of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA), signed in 2005 which ended two decades of conflict between the North and South Sudan.
There are concerns about the possible risk of violence during the referendum, a sentiment echoed by the Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations, Alain Le Roy.
"Serious concerns remain regarding South Sudanese living in the North. Recently, high level representatives of the NCP have declared that South Sudanese living in the North could lose their citizenship, access to health services and their rights to ownership. In the meantime, UNMIS reports that there have been acts of intimidation by the SPLA on pro-unity groups."
NARRATOR: The South Sudanese government has suggested the creation of a buffer zone between the north and south.
According to Le Roy, the UN Mission in Sudan is considering several options, one of them is to increase its presence in areas considered high risk, a move Sudanese Ambassador to the UN, Daff-Alla Elhag Ali Osman, does not agree with.
"In this connection, I would like to say that the optimal solution is to assist the parties to reach a satisfactory solution to the outstanding matters, not increasing forces."
NARRATOR: There has been a flurry of diplomatic activities and trips to Sudan ahead of the referenda.
Challenges remain with little time left to resolve outstanding issues.
For the next two months, the international community's attention will be focused on Sudan in hopes of a successful and peaceful outcome.
Jocelyne Sambira, United Nations.
Listen to the broadcast Duration: 3'10"
