Juba Conference

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The Juba Conference was a June 1947 meeting attended by British and Sudanese delegates in the city of Juba, regional capital of Equatoria Province in southern Sudan.

Great Britain organized the conference in order to combine northern and southern Sudan into one political entity. Up until this time, the two sectors were essentially treated by the British as two separate colonies; this being due to ethnic, religious and cultural differences. Northern Sudan was heavily Arabized and had a fairly well-structured political and economic infrastructure. Northerners practiced Islam and were relatively well-educated. Southern Sudan was mainly composed of various Nilotic tribes who practiced a mixture of Christian and animist beliefs. Politically and economically it was underdeveloped.

The Juba conference did agree to two matters at the time; that northern and southern Sudan constitute one state, and that a Legislative Assembly represent the entire colony. However, southern Sudanese representatives had several reservations about the resolutions, largely because they were in an inferior position in regards to their region's lack of educational and political experience.

Their apprehension was realized when 800 administrative posts were vacated by the British in preparation for Sudanese "self-rule", because only four of the government posts went to Southerners. In discussions to determine the future of the modern state of Sudan, the southern provinces were largely excluded from the political process.