Christian Churches have united to express concern at the "slow implementation and possible derailing" of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) signed at the end of Sudan's 22-year civil war in 2005, writes Abigail Frymann. The Sudan Council of Churches, which includes members of the Catholic bishops' conference, issued a statement to coincide with a visit from a World Council of Churches delegation this week. This year marks half way between the end of the war - fought between the predominantly Muslim north and mainly Christian and animist south - and a planned referendum in 2011 on whether the south should be allowed a high degree of autonomy.

The Churches voiced concern that voters were not being sufficiently educated about the details of the referendum, and that money pledged by the donor community for health facilities, schools and clean water was "often not forthcoming". They also acknowledged that social and ethnic divisions still occurred "within the Churches" as well as in the community. And they pledged to function as one body even if the country voted to divide.

Mauro Ansaldi, Cafod's country representative in Sudan, said: "There's a lot of disillusionment among people who were expecting a lot from the signing of the CPA."