AJC Congratulates South Sudan on Independence

[Ari Gordon <gordona@ajc.org>]

>AJC Congratulates South Sudan on Independence

July 9, 2011 - New York - AJC marked the birth of South Sudan by calling on the 
international community to support the world's newest nation as it pursues 
independence under daunting conditions.

"We share the hopes of those celebrating independence in Juba, South Sudan's 
capital," said AJC Executive Director David Harris. "The road to independence 
has been a long and bitter one: more than two million died and four million 
were driven from their homes during the civil war. South Sudan has finally been 
liberated from the domination of the largely Arab, Muslim north, yet it still 
faces enormous challenges. The world's newest nation is also one of its 
poorest, and the threat of renewed war remains. That is why we call on the 
international community, led by the U.S., which did so much to bring about 
South Sudan's independence, to remain fully engaged as the country begins a new 
chapter."

Tens of thousands of South Sudanese thronged the streets of Juba as Salva Kiir, 
South Sudan's first president, signed the constitution and took his oath of 
office.

AJC has been involved in advocacy concerning South Sudan since the creation of 
its Africa Institute in 2006. Its director, Eliseo Neuman, visited Juba in 2007 
to meet with senior government officials and members of the Sudan Peoples' 
Liberation Movement to identify state-building challenges that the institute 
could assist in addressing, including the training of members of the South 
Sudanese diaspora in Israel interested in voluntarily returning to South Sudan 
to participate in the creation of their long awaited state.

>Posted by:
>Ari M. Gordon
>Special Advisor, Interreligious
>and Intergroup Relations
>American Jewish Committee
>165 E56th Street
>New York, NY 10022
>(212)891-6717