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Attributing the unprecedented progress in peace talks between the government of Sudan and the Sudan Peoples Liberation Army (SPLA) to the active U.S. involvement and the increasing concern of friendly countries, Dr. Khalil points out that despite broad agreement between the two parties, details of wealth and power sharing, the structure of the interim government and the substance of the interim constitution are yet to be worked out.

The government's agreement to the SPLA's demand for self-determination rules out the possibility of southern unilateral secession, which would not augur well for relations between two neighbors who share vital natural resources. Moreover, according to international law, people of southern Sudan are not entitled to external-self determination, which may lead to secession. This right to self-determination is only legally recognized in international law within the colonial context. To that extent Machakos should be regarded as a positive development.

The Machakos Protocol provides for the people of southern Sudan to vote for either the adoption of the interim structure of government, or for secession. Hence only if the transitional form of government is attractive enough, will it induce the southerners to vote for unity. One obstacle hindering the establishment of federal system, as distinguished from a confederal one, is SPLA's recent printing of its own paper money. Provided, however, that the center is vested with power to control the overall national fiscal policy, there should be no reason why the south may not have its own currency and still remain part of a united Sudan (based on the model established by the European Union). However, Dr. Khalil points out that, according to the parties and mediators, substantial progress has been made with respect to negotiations on wealth and power sharing.

The Machakos Protocol provides that the Shari'a shall be the source of legislation in the north. For that reason Machakos may be regarded as a retrograde step in comparison to the 1994 IGAD Declaration of Principles, which provided for Sudan's religious freedom and the separation of state and religion. In the meantime, the Machakos Protocol offers a mechanism whereby the South may opt out of any Shari'a-based enactment. However the Protocol is silent on the nearly three million southerners presently residing in the north. Thus only southerners in the national capital are guaranteed exemption from the application of Shari'a.

In his concluding remarks, Dr. Khalil argued that while the ideal is for the unity of the Sudan to be preserved, even if the referendum results in separation, bringing an end to one of the most devastating civil wars is in itself an achievement. Moreover, the people of southern Sudan would have expectations of enjoying freedom within the framework of a democratic system of government. As far as the north is concerned, the Shari'a as conceived and applied by Umar Al-Bashir's regime may well be inconsistent with human rights and democratic norms.