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The Status of Abyei

ecoi.net's featured topics offer an overview on selected issues. The featured topic for Sudan & South Sudan covers the political and administrative status of the Abyei Area. The featured topics are presented in the form of excerpts from documents, all coming from sources available on ecoi.net.

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 Last update: 26 April 2012
 
GENERAL INFORMATION
 
“In January 2011, South Sudan held a referendum to decide between unity or independence from the central government of Sudan as called for by the Comprehensive Peace Agreement [CPA] that ended the country’s decades-long civil war in 2005. According to the South Sudan Referendum Commission (SSRC), 98.8% of the votes cast were in favor of separation. In February 2011, Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir officially accepted the referendum result, as did the United Nations, the African Union, the European Union, the United States, and other countries. On July 9, 2011, South Sudan officially declared its independence. […]
 
Abyei, a disputed area located between the North and the South, was also expected to hold a referendum on January 9, 2011, to decide whether to retain its current special administrative status or to be part of South Sudan. However, the referendum did not take place, […].” (CRS, 25 July 2011, Summary)
 
“Located between Northern Bahr al Ghazal, Warrap and Unity states to the south and Southern Kordofan to the north, Abyei is geographically, ethnically and politically caught between Northern and Southern Sudan. It is home to the Ngok Dinka and Misseriya Arabs who migrate seasonally through it. Abyei has long been a flash point; polarisation between the two began during the first civil war (1955-1972), but a new dynamic was added when oil was discovered in 1979.” (ICG, 2 September 2010, p. 10)
 
“The region is often described as ‘oil-rich’, but after the 2009 Permanent Court of Arbitration [PCA] ruling in The Hague, most of the oil fields now fall outside Abyei's borders. It does still produce oil, but the real issue here is more ethnic than economic.” (BBC, 23 May 2011)
 
Link to a map showing the geographical location of Abyei Area:
Small Arms Survey: Abyei and nearby oil fields, 2010
http://www.smallarmssurveysudan.org/pdfs/facts-figures/armed-groups/three-areas/HSBA-Armed-Groups-S-Arms-Abyei-map.pdf
 
A report by Small Arms Survey providing an overview of the course of the conflict in Abyei until October 2011 is available at the following link:
Small Arms Survey: The Crisis in Abyei, 10 October 2011
http://www.smallarmssurveysudan.org/pdfs/facts-figures/abyei/HSBA-Abyei.pdf
 
 
STAKEHOLDERS
 
“The government ended the civil war with the South in January 2005 by signing the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) with the SPLA [Sudan People’s Liberation Army] and its political arm, the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM). The pact established a power-sharing government, with the NCP [National Congress Party] retaining a slight majority in the parliament. The CPA also granted autonomy to a Government of Southern Sudan (GoSS) led by the SPLM, [...].” (FH, May 2011)
 
“[...] the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM), the southern political party that now rules South Sudan.” (HRW, 27 July 2011)
 
Abyei is “mainly inhabited by Ngok Dinka people who consider themselves southerners. But Misseriya nomads from the north herd their cattle through the territory in the dry season and are strongly supported by the Khartoum government”. (AFP, 20 June 2011)
 
 
POLITICAL AND LEGAL STATUS
 
Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) (including the Abyei Protocol) (signed 9 January 2005)
 
“Through the implementation of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement, the National Congress Party (NCP) and the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM) have ended the longest civil war in Africa.“ (UN Security Council, 17 May 2011, p. 1)
 
Link to Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) (including the Abyei Protocol):
http://unmis.unmissions.org/Portals/UNMIS/Documents/General/cpa-en.pdf
 
“The Abyei Protocol [to the CPA] promised a referendum for Abyei, to run concurrently with the referendum on Southern self-determination, and appointed the ABC [Abyei Boundaries Commission] to demarcate the borders of the territory. In the interim period the presidency would appoint an executive council, pending local elections The Abyei Protocol further prohibited all but three military forces from the territory: the Joint Integrated Units (JIUs) composed of both SAF [Sudanese Armed Forces] and SPLA forces, Abyei Police units, and international monitors.” (Small Arms Survey, June 2011, p. 13)
 
Abyei’s “special status was defined by the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Accord (CPA) that ended the last phase of civil war. Scheduled to last until July 2011, it grants Abyei residents joint citizenship of two of Sudan’s regional states, one in the north [Western Kordofan], the other in the south [Bahr al Ghazal]. It also calls for the area to be governed by an Executive Council, with members appointed by the joint national presidency until an election is held.“ (IRIN, 14 July 2010)
 
“Negotiations over Abyei’s referendum had stalled by mid-October 2010.” (Small Arms Survey, June 2011, p. 23)
 
“The referendum on whether Abyei will retain its special status in the North or become part of the South has not yet been scheduled due to disagreements between the NCP and the SPLM over voter eligibility.The NCP argues that the Misseriya, a nomadic group who migrate through Abyei, should be permitted to vote; the SPLM argues that only permanent residents of Abyei, the Ngok Dinka, should be registered.” (USCIRF, May 2011, p. 161)
 
Abyei Boundaries Commission (ABC) Report (issued 14 July 2005)
 
“The Abyei Boundaries Commission(ABC) was mandated to define and demarcate the area of the nine Ngok Dinka Chiefdoms transferred to Kordofan in 1905, referred to as ‘the Abyei area’. The ABC submitted its final report to the Presidency on 14 July 2005. However the Presidency failed to agree on adoption of the report.” (UNMIS, May 2011, p. 25)
 
Links to Abyei Boundaries Commission (ABC) Report:
http://www.sudantribune.com/IMG/pdf/Abey_boundary_com_report-1.pdf (Part 1)
http://www.sudantribune.com/IMG/pdf/Abey_boundary_com_report-2.pdf (Part 2)
 
Abyei’s “territory was to be defined by an Abyei Boundary Commission (ABC). That body’s 2005 ruling meant that a significant percentage of Sudan’s known oil reserves fell within the territory of Abyei (though output from the producing fields has since been in steady decline). Due to the financial implications of having to share Abyei’s oil revenues, the NCP rejected the ruling.” (ICG, 2 September 2010, p. 10)
 
Abyei Roadmap Agreement (signed 8 June 2008)
 
“On 8 June 2008, President Al-Bashir issued Republican Decree 146 adopting a landmark agreement between the NCP and the SPLM entitled ‘Roadmap for Return of IDPs and
Implementation of Abyei Protocol’.“ (UNMIS, April 2011, p. 3)
 
Link to the full text of the Abyei Roadmap:
http://unmis.unmissions.org/Portals/UNMIS/2008Docs/Abyei%20Roadmap.pdf
 
“In May 2008 clashes between SAF and SPLA soldiers caused near-total destruction of the town [of Abyei] and displaced some 60,000 civilians.” (HRW, 20 January 2010)
 
“Subsequent to the violence, in June 2008 the NCP and SPLM drew up the Abyei Roadmap, […]. [...] the Abyei Roadmap directs the presidency to appoint the Abyei Administration, while the Abyei Protocol calls for a temporary executive council to be put in place, followed by elections. [...]
The Abyei Roadmap called for the JIU that had been involved in the May 2008 clashes to be disbanded and a new JIU battalion to be deployed to Abyei [...]. The Abyei Roadmap also requires police units to be deployed to Abyei, although it does not say they have to be joint units composed of Northern and Southern forces, [...]. [...]
In the case that parties dispute the ABC’s findings, the Abyei Roadmap instructs them to refer the case to the PCA in The Hague. (Small Arms Survey, June 2011, p. 15)
 
Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) Final Award (issued 22 July 2009)
 
“On 22 July 2009, the Abyei Arbitral Tribunal at the Permanent Court of Arbitration rendered its decision in the Abyei dispute, [...]” (UNMIS, May 2011, p. 25)
 
Link to Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) Final Award:
http://www.pca-cpa.org/upload/files/Abyei%20Final%20Award.pdf
 
“After three years of deadlock and a series of violent clashes in 2008, the parties submitted the [Abyei territorial] dispute for arbitration. The Abyei Tribunal, constituted at the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA), announced its final award in 2009, which reduced the size of the area set forth by the ABC.
Because of the declining reserves and the fact that the PCA decision placed some fields outside Abyei, some had hoped the area would be less contentious by 2011. However, the PCA decision has not been implemented, […].” (ICG, 2 September 2010, p. 10)
 
Kadugli Agreements (signed 13 and 17 January 2011)
 
“On 13 January 2011, traditional leaders of the Dinka Ngok and the Misseriya, [...] reached agreement on a number of arrangements that aim at ensuring their peaceful co-existence, [...]. [...]
On 17 January 2011 [...] the parties discussed issues relating to security arrangements in Abyei and the protection of returnees who transit through Southern Kordofan State to the South and Abyei.” (UNMIS, April 2011, p. 29)
 
“Following the attacks of 7–9 January [2011], two separate meetings were organized in an attempt to improve a rapidly deteriorating security situation. The first, held on 13 January in Kadugli, was designed to address the concerns of both the Ngok Dinka and Missiriya communities, and dealt with the safe passage of returnees, grazing rights, and compensation for deaths caused in 2010. [...]
 
[...] a number of stakeholders convened a second meeting in Kadugli on 17 January to address the security situation in the territory. It was agreed that SAF would open the road leading south to Abyei; [...]. In order to prevent further outbreaks of violence, the NCP agreed to withdraw the Juba Police to Abyei town and to replace them with two new JIU battalions. The parties further agreed to open a grazing corridor for the Missiriya, and to disarm Missiriya and Ngok Dinka civilians.” (Small Arms Survey, June 2011, p. 30, 32)
 
Abyei Agreement (signed 4 March 2011)
 
“On 4 March 2011, the parties agreed on the modalities relating to the implementation of the Kadugli agreements of 13 and 17 January. The signed agreement includes, inter alia: [...]; the establishment of a mechanism (Standing Committee) to implement the Kadugli agreements; the full and effective deployment of the JIUs to the designated locations in Abyei; the immediate withdrawal of all other forces out of the Abyei Area; the UN to facilitate the implementation of the Kadugli agreements; and the UN to have unhindered access to all areas of the Abyei Area.” (UNMIS, April 2011, p. 29)
 
Link to the Abyei Agreement:
http://unmis.unmissions.org/Portals/UNMIS/2011Docs/Abyei%20Agreement%204%20March%202011_En.pdf
 
Temporary Arrangements for the Administration and Security of the Abyei Area (signed 20 June 2011)
 
“On 20 June, the Government of the Sudan and SPLM signed the […] Agreement on Temporary Arrangements for the Administration and Security of the Abyei Area.“ (UN Security Council, 26 July 2011, p. 2)
 
Link to Temporary Arrangements for the Administration and Security of the Abyei Area:
http://www.sudantribune.com/IMG/pdf/Abyei_Agreement_20110620-2.pdf
 
“In May 2011, Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) invaded Abyei, dissolved the Abyei Administration, and displaced more than 100,000 people. In June, the government of Sudan and the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM) reached a temporary agreement on security and governance, […].
The parties agreed the Abyei Area Administration shall consist of a Chief Administrator from the SPLM, a Deputy from the government of Sudan, and five heads of department; an Abyei Joint Oversight Committee, composed of four members, two from each party, shall be established; both parties will withdraw their forces from Abyei, and Ethiopia will deploy a peacekeeping force under a United Nations mandate; and the temporary agreement shall remain in force until a final agreement is reached by the parties.” (CRS, 25 July 2011, pp. 2, 4-5)
 
A report of the UN Secretary-General published in March 2012 providing information on the state of implementation of the 20 June 2011 Agreement is available at the following link:
UN Security Council: Report of the Secretary-General on the situation in Abyei [S/2012/175], 23 March 2012
http://www.ecoi.net/file_upload/1930_1333528682_n1226949.pdf
 
UN Security Council Resolution 1990 (2011) (adopted 27 June 2011)
 
“The United Nations Interim Security Force for Abyei (UNISFA) was established by the Security Council in its resolution 1990 (2011), [...].” (UN Security Council, 26 July 2011, p. 3)
 
Link to UN Security Council Resolution 1990 (2011):
http://www.un.org/ga/search/view_doc.asp?symbol=S/RES/1990%282011%29
Link to UNISFA:
http://www.un.org/en/peacekeeping/missions/unisfa/
 
“[…] in June, both the north and south agreed to withdraw their troops from Abyei, leaving a 20km (12-mile) buffer zone along the border.
A week later [on 27 June 2011], the UN Security Council voted unanimously to send a 4,200-strong Ethiopian peacekeeping force to Abyei to monitor the withdrawal, as well as the human rights situation.
The resolution established a new UN peacekeeping force, the United Nations Interim Security Force for Abyei (Unisfa). It also ordered Unisfa to protect civilians and to ‘protect the Abyei area from incursions by unauthorised elements’” (BBC, 5 August 2011)
 
 
SOURCES: (all links accessed 25 April 2012)
 
 

This featured topic was prepared after researching solely on ecoi.net and within time constraints. It is meant to offer an overview on an issue and is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status, asylum or other form of international protection. Every quotation comes from a document available on ecoi.net and is referred to via an ID-search.

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