declares independence. >> reporter: the dusty city of juba in south sudan could be on the rge of becoming the capital of the world's newest country. with less than two weeks before the south votes on whether or not to secede from the north, there's a palpable sense of excitement and anticipation. if there is separation, do you think your life will change? >> yes, my life will change. >> reporter: how? >> because things are now very hard, lack of job opportunities. >> if independence comes, from day one, there'll be a lot of development. >> reporter: already, juba has the hallmarks of a boom town. laborers are putting up commercial and government buildings. store fronts are conducting a brisk trade in construction materials. there's traffic congestion, vibrant commerce and the hope by many for rapid change. >> ( translated ): i'll vote for separation because then we'll have water. >> we need to be free so we have our own school to be free and to join any studies. >> we have been brutalized for >> reporter: on posters plastered around juba, an illustration of a hand waving go

and if that's an indication of for the rest of of south sudan and the rest of the of the country so far so good well let's take a look at the history of the skulls that in sudan then reported by spotlights you enter the middle of. the sudanese civil war has been described as one of the longest lasting and at least was of two eight twenty same cheree it went on for twenty one years and claimed iran two million lives the war between the muslim north and largely christian south ended two thousand and five peace deal peace between southern and northern sudan has always been volatile. when sudan was a british colony the two provinces were administered separately after decolonized ation the two areas were integrated and the arab new with received most power which led to one arrest in the south since then the history of sudan has been that of endless insurgences what adds fuel to the conflict. is that the noose wants to dominate the south which is reaching resources including the well the two thousand and five comprehensive peace agreement has given the south six years and the promise of a ref

but another regional government and the local people seem to have come to terms with their future south sudan is going to hold a referendum it will decide whether the region agrees to be a part of sudan to become an independent state a positive result could give added impetus to office accession claims by some sudan and darfur and in other countries like nigeria and south africa. how mr gambari and welcome to the shelves it's my pleasure to be on thank you very much thank you very much for coming well the referendum on january ninth in southern sudan well the people are expected. to come to the polls and make their their valves do you believe that it will pass peacefully that everything will be according to the law the sofa will say so good my responsibilities. limited to a therefore of course vote my colleague from in carriers is in charge of helping the parties to implement the comprehensive peace agreement c.p.a. or we did referendum is key nonetheless in a very supportive way you know media walks with. my sister organization armies to sure that all the logistics support needed for the reg

american investment groups are already buying up large tracts of agricultural land in south sudan. rather than farming. oil currently represents nearly 20% of the cidoni is gdp. an interruption -- 20% of the sudan gdp. this is a significant sum to a developing country. neighboring countries would also secure cost be to trade. -- costs to trade. if they block oil shipments to the pipeline, the result would be the loss of all development gains made in the last five years and possibly even starvation. the south however cannot just live happily ever after. the refineries are all located in the northcom and the only pipeline for export in the landlocked self runs through the north at the red sea -- the refineries are all located in the north, and the only pipeline for export in the landlocked south runs through the north at the red sea. an important oil producer like sudan, it would have immediately -- it would immediately produce an effect. unless we forgive, there it be terrible loss of life in a renewed conflict. in the other civil war, roughly 2 million people lost their lives with

as the south sudan president's says --si

that there's not that likelihood because if you look at the enthusiasm with which the people of south sudan have registered for the vote. the interest of the huge numbers and even in the north of sudan where the turnout is not as high i think people want to have a friend on to take place they want to exercise their right to vote and to exercise their right of self-determination. the independence of southern sudan may lead to a necessity to review the. a grievance on the status of nadal is this is this pretty dangerous to to start reviewing these agreements. once again this is not an issue which are principle irresponsible but i think denial is of such critical importance to all the neighboring countries that i would defer to their judgment as to how best to do to proceed but i have seen that efforts bit by egypt by your peer by uganda to ensure that the waters of denial is truly something for the benefit of all the people you know you know the point of view of your colleagues are probably titian's another african countries there are similar maybe not grave but similar problems that in many

succession plans by mr sudan and darfur and in other countries like nigeria and south. how mr gambari and welcomes the shells small pleasure to be on thank you very much thank you very much for coming well the referendum on january ninth in southern sudan well the people are expected. to come to the polls and make their their valves do you believe that it will pass peacefully then that everything will be according to the law the sofa will say so good my responsibilities. limited to a therefore of course vote my colleague from carriers is in charge of helping the parties to implement the comprehensive peace agreement c.p.a. or we did referendum is key nonetheless in a very supportive way you know media walks with. my sister organization armies to sure that all the logistics support needed for the registration which is has been concluded including in about sixteen centers in therefore where about one hundred fifty thousand people registered out of a possible voters of three hundred thousand when very peacefully. if that's an indication of the rest of of southern sudan and

american investment groups are already buying up large tracts of agricultural land in south sudan. r interest is in untapped oil reserves rather than farming. oil currently represents nearly 20% of the cidoni is gdp. an interruption -- 20% of the sudan gdp. this is a significant sum to a developing country. neighboring countries would also secure cost be to trade. -- costs to trade. if they block oil shipments to the pipeline, the result would be the loss of all development gains made in the last five years and possibly even starvation. the south however cannot just live happily ever after. the refineries are all located in the northcom and the only pipeline for export in the landlocked self runs through the north at the red sea -- the refineries are all located in the north, and the only pipeline for export in the landlocked south runs through the north at the red sea. an important oil producer like sudan, it would have immediately -- it would immediately produce an effect. unless we forgive, there it be terrible loss of life in a renewed conflict. in the other civil war, roughly 2

now 80% of sudan's oil is in the south of the country. there's only one way that oil leaves the country, through the north. through a pipeline, the pipeline is heavily protected by chinese oil interest. it used to be a u.s. company which has divested because of so much political power. i had the very curious conversation with some of the former farmers, sudanese farmers solved off of their land by oil interest; right? they are now essentially fisherman, they fish in puddles. i had a group of men say to me, why can't you bring back chevron. we much perform chevron and western oil interest to chinese ones. at least they try to get to know us. that is to say in what looks like economic policies, we need to say out of particular areas is frequently on the ground much more complicated than it looks at a distance. >> host: good morning, you are on with eliza griswold. >> caller: hi, i wanted to thank the lady between the statement and the christians and muslims, is really between their own kind, muslims against muslims and christians against ch

one issue in the regard as an example of arms carrying and security, certainly the government of south sudan is widely said that the no maddic people can continue their migrations into the south like they have for generations. you can tell them, but don't bring weapons. that issue has to be resolved. there's a standing issue that folks can't come across the border with weapons, and they don't feel like they have adequate scwiewrt if they do, and again, we're at a bit of a deadlock. until you find some solution to that, you have many groups coming south, and where they normally would have crossed the river and go in the south and unless you have pressure intensifying in an already tense environment, we'll let the cpa know, but it's a problem that needs addressing, or it will continue to fester. the way that's solved is local level and state level agreements. that's happened in recent years and in some areas and hasn't happened in others, and again, now, my sense though there are others here from the area that may know better is that kind of discussion and discussion about arms carrying and ab

one issue in the regard as an example of arms carrying and security, certainly the government of south sudan is widely said that the no maddic people can continue their migrations into the south like they have for generations. you can tell them, but don't bring weapons. that issue has to be resolved. there's a standing issue that folks can't come across the border with weapons, and they don't feel like they have adequate scwiewrt if they do, and again, we're at a bit of a deadlock. until you find some solution to that, you have many groups coming south, and where they normally would have crossed the river and go in the south and unless you have pressure intensifying in an already tense environment, we'll let the cpa know, but it's a problem that needs addressing, or it will continue to fester. the way that's solved is local level and state level agreements. that's happened in recent years and in some areas and hasn't happened in others, and again, now, my sense though there are others here from the area that may know better is that kind of discussion and discussion about arms carrying and ab

one issue in the regard as an example of arms carrying and security, certainly the government of south sudan is widely said that the no maddic people can continue their migrations into the south like they have for generations. you can tell them, but don't bring weapons. that issue has to be resolved. there's a standing issue that folks can't come across the border with weapons, and they don't feel like they have adequate scwiewrt if they do, and again, we're at a bit of a deadlock. until you find some solution to that, you have many groups coming south, and where they normally would have crossed the river and go in the south and unless you have pressure intensifying in an already tense environment, we'll let the cpa know, but it's a problem that needs addressing, or it will continue to fester. the way that's solved is local level and state level agreements. that's happened in recent years and in some areas and hasn't happened in others, and again, now, my sense though there are others here from the area that may know better is that kind of discussion and discussion about arms carrying and ab

going to change because of these leaks you know there's still going to be this upcoming vote in south sudan that's going to be top of the list north korea is going to occupy some time at the security council this month those top priorities are going to change because of this this leaked but do you think by perhaps not really being so critical of it that more people are going to become critical of the u.n. again we have the discussion of you know a does the u.n. even do anything or do they just let the u.s. walk all over them well you know it's sort of a symbiotic relationship between the united states and the united nations you know what you can see clearly from this document is that the united states look to the looks to the. un to add that ted value to its own foreign policy priorities like darfur like sudan like you know sri lanka. but you know that the u.n. also relies on the u.s. for its diplomatic and political support and also financial support so it's not i think one or the other really. really good out of probably not everybody out there would respond that way but let's look at the

i also read something about south sudan and secession. can you explain that? >> great. this is fun. this is like a class. the second one. i'm getting all. beattie. have to write it down or it doesn't exist. okay. bashir in kenya. so we just finished saying we have to work to isolate these guys. but that scarlet letter. sometimes there is a hole in the line. there are many holes in hours. probably an inappropriate analogy. anyway, in this case kenya did not fulfil its obligations as a signatory to the international criminal court which would have left them, had he enter their country or airspace or whenever they would have had to rest of. kenya had a reason that they articulated which we don't have to dignify here. it was a very deeply political reason for their geopolitical interest. the repercussions. they did it. so now the question is what cost will there be for doing it? that is where we have worked very hard to try to get some of the staunchest supporters of the court, the signatories, particularly the european countries who are all about the international criminal court to go

and then i have a question -- i also read something about south sudan and secession and i don't understand it. can you explain it please? >> great. this is fun. it's like a class. to get it at columbia in why you, it'll be fun. the second one again? blight, i'm getting old. secession. good, thank you. have to write it down or it doesn't exist. bushehr to kenya. i just finished saying we've got to work to isolate these guys for the scarlet letter. boom, sometimes there is a hold on the line, there are many holds on our line. probably in an appropriate analogy. but anyways, in this case, kenya did not fulfill its obligations as a signatory to the international criminal court, which would have left them had he entered the country, the aerospace, whatever, they would have had to arrest him. kenya has a reason that they articulated during the -- which we don't have to dignify here, but it was a very deeply political reason for their geopolitical interests. the repercussions now, so they did it. so now the question is what cost will there be for doing it. and that is where we have worked very ha

while they have been able to agree on and are supporting the effort on the referendum on south sudan, they have not been able to agree on a basis for the referendum to move forward with respect to abyei. it is a very complex situation. we remain engaged with the parties. they ultimately have to determine how to resolve the status of abyei. there is a set requirement under the cpa. it is -- the parties have the authority if they want to by mutual agreement resolve abyei through a different route. this is up to them. but they have to agree. we are less than 30 days, you know, from the designated date january 9, and at this point, the reality is it is, from where we stand, virtually impossible to have a referendum on abyei at this point, you know, based on the work that has not been done and the progress that has not been made. >> would you encourage the north and south to negotiate an agreement on abyei? >> again, this is up to them. there is a set requirement to have a referendum on abyei. and that is what exists in the agreement and the parties today are duty bound, you know, to carry

as the south sudan president says, -- of course, it must be recognized that even a vote for unity would not be a guarantee against new conflict without resolution of many outstanding issues. none of which were resolved in the five years that have passed since the conclusion of the 2005 comprehensive peace agreement. should china perceive that its energy sources are being compromised by american support for southern independence, there is a very good chance that this could drive a downward spiral in chinese-american relations. given the wide ranging economic, political, and security ramifications of a new conflict in the sudan, current concessions over poorly made cargo bombs emanating from yemen and airport pat-downs, these pale as security issues compared to the ticking time bomb in the nile basin. thank you. [applause] >> that was certainly scary. we have time for only a couple of questions. i want to be mindful of the next panel at 3:00 on yemen. perhaps we could take one or two questions and i also encourage you, if you do not get a chance to ask your question, i get in touch with t

south. clooney wants sudan to document just how perilous the situation is.vinced that war, even atrocities could happen here? >> i am much, much more convinced. >> reporter: after gathering what he considers convincing evidence, clooney headed home to sound the alarm and his pr offensive began right here at "today." do you think this war can actually be stopped? >> i think it can be stopped if we get involved now. we have a shot. >> reporter: then clooney proceeded to blanket the air waives. >> he's on a mission to help save sudan.ves. >> he's on a mission to help save sudan. >> george clooney shedding light on what's happening in sudan. >> do we turn away? does the world care? >> that's not the biggest danger. >> thank you for using your celebrity for good and not evil, george clooney. >> reporter: he reached millions of people during his media blitz. then phase two of his plan, bringing the message to the halls of power. he hit the capitol. our job is to report on what we saw, and that's what we're here to do. >> reporter: and the white house t meeting is

south? >> i think what you just said, sudan, is spot on. a weekend of worry. what we have learned is the white house, the pentagon and the state department have set up sort of a contingency stantd by over the weekend with the government in seoul as the exercises unfold. if heaven forbid as wolf said things escalate, the obama administration wants to be able to be in immediate touch with the south koreans. they want to know exactly what's going on. they want to talk to the south koreans. they want to be able to try to key fuse thi defuse things. they want to lay out as one official laid out for me courses of reaction for the south koreans. if the south koreans see action by the north and feel pressure to respond the u.s. wants to be party to that decision making and get the south koreans to understand that it's in the best interest of everybody to deescalate, to stay calm. no one, however, knows what the north koreans might do, if anything, and that's the real wildcard even tonight. suzanne? >> barbara, i want to get back to you. i want to go back to wolf for a

sudan. >> my dad told my mom to move out so we moved to south africa first and then we moved from out africandiscernible ] when i was 6 months. i moved to kenya and then the united states. in the process of moving i lost a couple of relatives. >> reporter: he came to the united states not knowing what had happened to his father and could not re-enter sudan to find out. >> my dad thought i was dead. i was dead because a lot of people told him that your son is not alive so he actually forgot about me. >> reporter: it was a cousin that reunited them in 2007. he made the trip to sudan to see him for the first time in san francisco years. >> he couldn't believe that i was still alive. it was kind of awkward at first because kind of taller than me. i didn't expect that. saw him for three days. >> reporter: the 6'9" forward continues to improve on mike montgomery's bench. he switched from soccer to basketball just over three years ago at village christian high school in los angeles. according to montgomery, his development goes far beyond the court. >> he just passed college writing which here is o