Sudan

• tropical in south;
• arid desert in north;
• rainy season varies by region (April to November)

• generally flat, featureless plain;
• mountains in far south, northeast and west;
• desert dominates the north

• inadequate supplies of potable water;
• wildlife populations threatened by excessive hunting;
• soil erosion;
• desertification;
• periodic drought

party to:

Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection

signed, but not ratified:

none of the selected agreements

at birth:

1.05 male(s)/female

under 15 years:

1.04 male(s)/female

15-64 years:

1 male(s)/female

65 years and over:

1.15 male(s)/female

total population:

1.02 male(s)/female (2006 est.)

degree of risk:

very high

food or waterborne diseases:

bacterial and protozoal diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever

vectorborne diseases:

malaria, dengue fever, African trypanosomiasis (sleeping sickness) are high risks in some locations

water contact disease:

schistosomiasis

respiratory disease:

meningococcal meningitis (2005)

noun:

Sudanese (singular and plural)

adjective:

Sudanese

conventional long form:

Republic of the Sudan

conventional short form:

Sudan

local long form:

Jumhuriyat as-Sudan

local short form:

As-Sudan

former:

Anglo-Egyptian Sudan

• Government of National Unity (GNU) - the National Congress Party (NCP) and Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) formed a power-sharing government under the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA);
• the NCP, which came to power by military coup in 1989, is the majority partner;
• the agreement stipulates national elections for the 2008 - 2009 timeframe.

name:

Khartoum

geographic coordinates:

15 36 N, 32 32 E

time difference:

UTC+3 (8 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)

• 12 April 1973;
• suspended following coup of 6 April 1985;
• interim constitution of 10 October 1985 suspended following coup of 30 June 1989;
• new constitution implemented on 30 June 1998 partially suspended 12 December 1999 by President BASHIR;
• under the CPA, Interim National Constitution ratified 5 July 2005;
• Constitution of Southern Sudan signed December 2005

• based on English common law and Shari'a law;
• as of 20 January 1991, the now defunct Revolutionary Command Council imposed Shari'a law in the northern states;
• Shari'a law applies to all residents of the northern states regardless of their religion;
• some separate religious courts;
• accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations;
• the southern legal system is still developing under the CPA following the civil war;
• Shari'a law will not apply to the southern states

• bi-cameral body comprising the National Assembly and Council of States (replaced unicameral National Assembly of 360 seats);
• pending elections and National Election Law, the Presidency appointed 450 members to the National Assembly according to the provisions of the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement: 52% NCP;
• 28% SPLM;
• 14% other Northerners;
• 6% other Southerners;
• 2 representatives from every state constitute the Council of States;
• terms in each chamber are five years following the first elections

elections:

last held 13-22 December 2000 (next to be held 2008-2009 timeframe)

election results:

NCP 355, others 5; note - replaced by appointments under the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement

• Constitutional Court of nine justices;
• National Supreme Court;
• National Courts of Appeal;
• other national courts;
• National Judicial Service Commission will undertake overall management of the National Judiciary

• political parties in the Government of National Unity include: National Congress Party or NCP [Ibrahim Ahmed OMAR];
• Sudan People's Liberation Movement or SPLM [Salva Mayardit KIIR];
• and elements of the National Democratic Alliance or NDA including factions of the Democratic Union Party [Muhammad Uthman al-MIRGHANI] and Umma Party [SADIQ Siddiq al-Mahdi]

chief of mission:

Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires, Ad Interim Khidir HAROUN (since April 2001)

chancery:

2210 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008

telephone:

[1] (202) 338-8565

FAX:

[1] (202) 667-2406

chief of mission:

Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Cameron HUME

embassy:

Sharia Ali Abdul Latif Avenue, Khartoum

mailing address:

P. O. Box 699, Khartoum; APO AE 09829

telephone:

[249] (183) 774701

FAX:

[249] (183) 774137

note: US Consul in Cairo is providing backup service for Khartoum; consular services are being established in Juba (southern Sudan)

agriculture:

80%

industry:

7%

services:

13% (1998 est.)

lowest 10%:

NA%

highest 10%:

NA%

total:

5,978 km

narrow gauge:

4,578 km 1.067-m gauge; 1,400 km 0.600-m gauge for cotton plantations (2005)

total:

11,900 km

paved:

4,320 km

unpaved:

7,580 km (1999)

total:

2 ships (1000 GRT or over) 11,326 GRT/14,068 DWT

by type:

cargo 1, livestock carrier 1

registered in other countries:

2 (Panama 1, Saudi Arabia 1) (2006)

males age 18-49:

8,291,695

females age 18-49:

8,135,683 (2005 est.)

males age 18-49:

5,427,474

females age 18-49:

5,649,566 (2005 est.)

males age 18-49:

442,915

females age 18-49:

426,320 (2005 est.)

• the effects of Sudan's almost constant ethnic and rebel militia fighting since the mid-twentieth century have penetrated all of its border states that provide shelter for fleeing refugees and cover to disparate domestic and foreign conflicting elements;
• since 2003, Janjawid armed militia and Sudanese military have driven about 200,000 Darfur region refugees into eastern Chad;
• large numbers of Sudanese refugees have also fled to Uganda, Ethiopia, Kenya, the Central African Republic, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo;
• southern Sudan provides shelter to Ugandans seeking periodic protection from soldiers of the Lord's Resistance Army;
• Sudan accuses Eritrea of supporting Sudanese rebel groups;
• efforts to demarcate the porous boundary with Ethiopia have been delayed by civil and ethnic fighting in Sudan;
• Kenya's administrative boundary extends into the southern Sudan, creating the "Ilemi Triangle";
• Egypt and Sudan retain claims to administer triangular areas that extend north and south of the 1899 Treaty boundary along the 22nd Parallel, but have withdrawn their military presence;
• Egypt is economically developing the "Hala'ib Triangle" north of the Treaty Line;
• periodic violent skirmishes with Sudanese residents over water and grazing rights persist among related pastoral populations from the Central African Republic along the border

refugees (country of origin):

110,927 (Eritrea) 5,023 (Chad) 7,983 (Uganda) 14,812 (Ethiopia)

IDPs:

5,300,000 - 6,200,000 (internal conflict since 1980s; ongoing genocide) (2005)

current situation:

• Sudan is a source country for men, women, and children trafficked for the purposes of forced labor and sexual exploitation;
• Sudan may also be a transit and destination country for Ethiopian women trafficked for domestic servitude;
• boys are trafficked to the Middle East, particularly Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, for use as camel jockeys;
• small numbers of girls are reportedly trafficked within Sudan for domestic servitude, as well as for commercial sexual exploitation in small brothels in internally displaced persons (IDP) camps;
• the terrorist rebel organization "Lord's Resistance Army" (LRA) continues to abduct and forcibly conscript small numbers of children in Southern Sudan for use as cooks, porters, and combatants in its ongoing war against Uganda;
• some of these children are then trafficked across borders into Uganda or possibly the Democratic Republic of the Congo;
• children are utilized by rebel groups and the Sudanese Armed Forces and associated militias in the ongoing conflict in Darfur;
• during the decades of civil war, thousands of Dinka women and children were enslaved by members of Baggara tribes and subjected to various forms of forced labor without remuneration, as well as physical and sexual abuse;
• with the cessation of the North-South conflict and the ongoing peace process, there were no known new abductions of Dinka by Baggara tribes during 2005;
• however, inter-tribal abductions of a different nature continue in Southern Sudan and warrant further investigation

tier rating:

Tier 3 - Sudan does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking and is not making significant efforts to do so