UN calls for increased dialogue to resolve final status of Abyei
October 27, 2022 (NEW YORK) – Sudan and South Sudan must continue their political engagements for implementing security and administrative arrangements in the wake of the revival of violence and intercommunal attacks in Abyei, a United Nations official said.
The Assistant Secretary-General for Africa, Departments of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs and Peace Operations, Martha Ama Akyaa Pobee said such engagements are key in achieving acceptable solutions on the final status of the disputed oil-producing region.
She said the UN peacekeeping mission in Abyei (UNISFA) is ready to support the shared objectives for Abyei, citing its work with communities and leaders in Khartoum and Juba.
“Although the security situation in the Abyei area remains mostly calm, a new conflict is emerging between Dinka Ngoc and Twic communities in southern Abyei,” said Pobee.
She expressed concerns that the intercommunal violence resulting from the conflict in Abyei has led to loss of lives on both sides and the displacement of thousands of civilians.
“Clashes recently resumed after a lull in violence during the rainy season,” Pobee stated, warning that the upcoming dry season enabling mobility could bring further violence.
The top UN official urge the Government of South Sudan to continue its engagement with the local community to ensure that such threats do not re-occur.
The Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for the Horn of Africa, Hanna Serwaa Tetteh told the UN Security Council that while Sudan and South Sudan have improved relations through regular bilateral meetings, each country’s priority are on domestic issues.
“Meaningful progress in the negotiations appears unlikely absent the prior agreement on the restoration of a civilian led transitional Government in Khartoum,” she explained.
Tette, however, said her office would continue to engage with the Governments of Sudan and South Sudan, the African Union and the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) towards fully normalising relations between both countries.
She also voiced concerns about the recent acts of violence between the Dinka Ngok and Twic communities, urging the parties to cease hostilities.
South Sudan’s representative to the UN, Akuei Bona Malwal blamed the intercommunal clashes and insecurity in Abyei on the incomplete deployment of the multinational force.
He, however, said his government is working hard to address the root causes of the conflict to restore and foster intercommunal harmony between the two communities.
Malwal further called on the Council and the wider international community to support and encourage the leadership of the two countries to maintain their current spirit of engagement until they reach a mutually acceptable agreement on final status of Abyei.
Abyei is an area on the border between South Sudan and the Sudan that has been accorded special administrative status by the 2004 Protocol on the Resolution of the Abyei Conflict in the Comprehensive Peace Agreement that ended Sudan’s civil war.
Under the terms of the Abyei Protocol, which was part of the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA), residents of Abyei have been declared, on an interim basis, to be simultaneously citizens of Sudan’s West Kordofan State and South Sudan’s Northern Bahr el Ghazal State until Abyei’s permanent status is determined through a referendum.
(ST)