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The planet’s newest nation-to-be, South Sudan, readies itself for independence this Saturday July 9th. Sudan’s war-ravaged South secured formal independence five months after a successful vote on secession from the North. Hundreds of thousands of Southern Sudanese have streamed back home from the North since last year. The future capital, Juba, has been shut down for celebrations and a massive parade. The event marks the official end of Sudan’s 20 year civil war. However, tensions remain with seven different rebel groups still in existence in the South – this year alone, nearly than 2,400 people have been killed in the South. A border dispute over the central region of Abyei, and the neighboring region of South Kordofan, threatens to undermine the South’s independence as fighting continues between forces on both sides. In June, the UN Security Council sent 4,200 peacekeeping forces from Ethiopia to Abyei to monitor the agreed-upon withdrawal of Northern troops. Meanwhile, South Sudan’s legislative assembly just ratified a new constitution this week, denying charges that it concentrates too much power with the President – a position currently occupied by Salva Kiir. Several non-governmental organizations and civil society groups have warned that the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM) would also be disproportionately empowered. Mr. Kiir will sign the constitution on Saturday during the independence ceremony. Sudan’s president Omar Al Bashir has planned to attend on Saturday, pledging that he wants a secure and stable South Sudan. South Sudan’s nationhood will be marked by extremes: a country the size of Texas, it will be one of the most underdeveloped, and yet, most oil-rich nations in the world. South Sudan’s 8 million strong population will have to contend with literacy rates of hovering at 15% and only about 30 miles of paved roads.

GUEST: Emira Woods, Co-Director of Foreign Policy in Focus

Find out more at www.fpif.org.