Nationality of Southerners in Sudan

The issue of nationality of southern Sudanese living in Sudan is one of several controversial disagreements confronting Sudan and South Sudan. The 8 April 2012 deadline established for southerners resident in Sudan to regularize their status has passed. Several hundred thousand southerners who are presumed to have acquired South Sudan nationality are still resident in Sudan, despite a February 2012 agreement between the two states for their voluntary return. These southerners have no recognized legal status in Sudan, exposing them to a variety of dangers.

The Open Society Initiative for Eastern Africa published on 16 April 2012 an analysis titled The Right to a Nationality and the Secession of South Sudan: A Commentary on the Impact of the New Laws by Bronwen Manby, a senior program officer with the Open Society Foundations. Click here to read the commentary.