The New Sudan Council of Churches (NSCC) is an organization comprising six churches located in

Southern Sudan South Sudan (; din, Paguot Thudän), officially the Republic of South Sudan ( din, Paankɔc Cuëny Thudän), is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered by Ethiopia, Sudan, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of the Con ...

: the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

Episcopal Church of the Sudan The Province of the Episcopal Church of South Sudan, formerly known as Episcopal Church of Sudan, is a province of the Anglican Communion located in South Sudan. The province consists of eight Internal Provinces (each led by an archbishop) and 61 d ...

, Presbyterian Church of Sudan, African Inland Church, Sudan Pentecostal Church, and

Sudan Interior Church Sudan Interior Church is a Baptist Christian denomination, affiliated with the Baptist World Alliance, in Sudan. The headquarters is in Khartoum. The general secretary is Ramadan Chan. History Sudan Interior Church has its origins in Sudan Int ...

. Formed in 1989–1990 under Bishop

Paride Taban Paride Taban (born 1936 in Opari, Eastern Equatoria) is a South Sudanese Emeritus Bishop of the Roman Catholic Church and was the first leader of the New Sudan Council of Churches, which was founded in February 1990. he was auxiliary Bishop of Juba ...

, the NSCC has acted as a facilitator in peace negotiations during the

Second Sudanese Civil War The Second Sudanese Civil War was a conflict from 1983 to 2005 between the central Sudanese government and the Sudan People's Liberation Army. It was largely a continuation of the First Sudanese Civil War of 1955 to 1972. Although it originate ...

. Along with its stated goal of

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

fellowship, it is active in reconciliation advocacy and

human rights Human rights are Morality, moral principles or Social norm, normsJames Nickel, with assistance from Thomas Pogge, M.B.E. Smith, and Leif Wenar, 13 December 2013, Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyHuman Rights Retrieved 14 August 2014 for ce ...

. The NSCC most widely reported success was the negotiation of an end to inter-ethnic fighting among

Nuer Nuer may refer to: * Nuer people * Nuer language The Nuer language (Thok Naath) ("people's language") is a Nilotic language of the Western Nilotic group. It is spoken by the Nuer people of South Sudan and in western Ethiopia (region of Gamb ...

in 1999. The Wunlit negotiations led to the creation of the

South Sudan Liberation Movement The South Sudan Liberation Movement (SSLM) is an armed group that operates in the Upper Nile Region of South Sudan. The group's creation was announced in November 1999 by people of the Nuer ethnicity who were in both the rebel Sudan People's Lib ...

, which declared itself neutral in the conflict. According to John Prendergast of the

International Crisis Group The International Crisis Group (ICG; also known as the Crisis Group) is a transnational non-profit, non-governmental organisation founded in 1995. It is a think tank, used by policymakers and academics, performing research and analysis on global ...

, what progress has been made in reconciling the factions that resulted when

Riek Machar Dr. Riek Machar Teny Dhurgon (born 26 November 1952) is a South Sudanese politician who serves as the First Vice President of South Sudan. Political life In February 2020, Machar was re-sworn in as first vice president following a revitalised ...

and

Lam Akol Dr. Lam Akol Ajawin, is a South Sudanese politician of Shilluk descent. He is the current leader of National Democratic Movement (NDM) party. He is a former high-ranking official in the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA), and subsequently bec ...

's defected from the

Sudan People's Liberation Army The South Sudan People's Defence Forces (SSPDF), formerly the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA), is the army of the South Sudan, Republic of South Sudan. The SPLA was founded as a guerrilla movement against the government of Sudan in 198 ...

(SPLA) in 1994 is largely the result of the work of the NSCC. However, the European-Sudanese Public Affairs Council, an organization that largely takes a pro-government stance, states that the NSCC is overly entangled with the political leadership and goals of the SPLA.Opinion: How Credible A Witness?: The New Sudan Council of Churches (1)
The European-Sudanese Public Affairs Council, 6 June 2002 It is a member of the

Fellowship of Christian Councils and Churches in the Great Lakes and Horn of Africa The Fellowship of Christian Councils and Churches in the Great Lakes and Horn of Africa (FECCLAHA, also ''Fraternité Des Eglises et Des Conseils Chrétiens Des Grands Lacs et De La Corne De L'Afrique'') is an ecumenical Christian organization in ...

Notes and references

Second Sudanese Civil War Churches in Sudan National councils of churches Christian organizations established in 1989 {{Sudan-stub