Mr. Mkapa emphasized that southerners living in the north and northerners living in the south deserve guarantees on their protection and freedoms, regardless of the outcome of the January referenda.

The panel's task is to play a good offices role on behalf of Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to ensure that the referenda are free and fair, as well as to provide recommendations.

"We are not here to run the referenda process, or be election observers, or certify the results," Mr. Mkapa underlined. "This is a Sudanese-owned process, and the primary responsibility for ensuring that the referenda are credible lies with the Sudanese themselves. The role of the international community is to provide support to them."

The challenges facing Sudan less than three months before the referenda cannot be resolved overnight, he said.

"But with enough will and hard work from the Sudanese parties, as well as increased support from the international community, we are confident that the referenda can still be successful," the panel leader said, pledging to continue working with all parties to reach this goal.

During its visit to Sudan, the body visited Khartoum, as well as Juba, the capital of Southern Sudan, and Abyei.

The panel members met with Sudanese President Omar Al-Bashir and Government of Southern Sudan President Salva Kiir Mayardit.

They also held talks with senior officials from both governments, members of the Southern Sudan Referendum Commission and Bureau, the Chairman as well as Deputy Chairman of the Abyei Administration and representatives of the UN, diplomatic corps, observer groups and civil society.

Mr. Mkapa is joined on the panel by António Monteiro, former Minister of Foreign Affairs for Portugal, and Bhojraj Pokharel, former Chairman of the Nepalese Election Commission.

Their next visit to Sudan is expected to take place in November.