SPLA's Expulsion of 11 NGOs

The SPLA's humanitarian arm, the SRRA, demanded that NGOs (non-governmental organizations) operating in SPLA-controlled territory sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) by March 1, 2000, or face expulsion. More than 30 NGOs were had to decide whether to sign. Organizations operating under a separate agreement between the SPLA and the UN were exempt from this demand. About two dozen NGOs chose to sign, including Catholic Relief Services and Lutheran World Federation, but 11 other organizations decided that they could not tolerate the MOU's terms. All eleven, including Oxfam, Doctors Without Borders, Save the Children, CARE International, and World Vision, left southern Sudan before the March 1 deadline. Their departure cut off about 75% of the non-UN aid that had been flowing into southern Sudan.

For more information on the original story, follow these links:

Aid withdrawal hits Sudanese 
EU earmarks new aid for Sudan, but not rebel areas 
Southern Sudan Faces Starvation As NGOs Leave 
SPLA Press Release on MOU 
February 25, 2000- State Dept issues another statement on possible explusion of NGOs from southern Sudan 
February 24, 2000- State Dept and UN issue statements on Memorandum of Understanding 
SRRA Memorandum of Understanding

Recent updates:

April 13, 2000- New Sudan Council of Churches (NSCC) and Sudan Catholic Bishops' Regional Conference (SCBRC) Appeal to EU on humanitarian funds