NEW YORK - Yesterday, 5 July 2011, United Nations officials announced that South Sudan could become a member state after seceding.  South Sudan's secession was a prerequisite set forth by the U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon for it to be considered for membership.

On 9 July 2011 the Council will vote to confirm South Sudan as the 193rd member state and barring no veto, it could be confirmed as a member state on July 14. However, for over a decade this conflict-ravaged region has been subject to violent civil war and genocide in addition to the battle for control of its rich oil-producing regions. Because of this instability the future state shall remain under U.N. guardianship for the foreseeable future.

U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon said in a statement late on Tuesday he was disappointed there had not been an end to hostilities in South Kordofan, the north's main oil state which borders the south. Similar to the global outcry against the holocaust in Darfur, the continued hostilities have been condemned by Ban Ki Moon and others.  The U.N. Secretary General has demanded the cessation of conflict as it imposes a "grave humanitarian impact" on an already victimized and weary population.

As part of the U.N.'s preparation to assume guardianship over South Sudan, the international peace keeping organization is expected to deploy up to 7,000 U.N. peace keepers in the new state. This mission is tentatively called UNMIS, which will be the fourth separate blue-helmeted force in Sudan. The others were for Dafur, Abyei in response to the genocide and to monitor compliance with the 2005 north-south peace deal that ended decades of civil war.

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