Mr. Ban will host a gathering on Friday of world leaders on Sudan, and Obama’s attendance signals the importance the US gives the issue. On the agenda: referendums scheduled for January in southern Sudan – which could lead to the country’s partition – and the situation in Darfur. Coming with fewer than 110 days to go until the referendums, the upcoming New York meeting is already prompting Sudanese officials to step up efforts to put in place a viable voting process, says Samantha Power, Obama’s special assistant for multilateral affairs.
For Obama, the meeting is an “opportunity for the international community to stand together and send a forceful message [to the government in Khartoum as well as to leaders in the south] at a make-or-break time,” she says.
