Thank you, Chairman.
Given the extraordinary efforts that were put into developing the Comprehensive Peace Agreement, and the fact that the referendum was a central part of that peace agreement, to question whether or not it should proceed at this stage would have quite a destabilizing effect on the overall situation on the ground. South Sudan has gained a great deal of autonomy during this period while the peace agreement has been in effect, and they have begun to establish institutions. In fact many people believe that even if the referendum were to come out in favour of independence for south Sudan, the powers flowing to south Sudan post-referendum would not be significantly greater than they are today. So some of this work is already under way.
The honourable member is quite right that the capacity in both south Sudan and Sudan writ large is quite limited. As you may recall from the beginning of my statement, I emphasized how this is a country that has been rocked by violence and instability for a number of years. There is very basic infrastructure, and whatever the results of the referendum, the road ahead is not likely to be easy or straightforward and of course will require significant support from the international community. But I think to question the validity of the referendum at this stage would be not helpful in terms of the stability of the region.