Sudan: Security Council Debates Crisis

22 June 2011

Northern and Southern Sudan today [June 20] signed an agreement to pull their troops out of the disputed central Abyei region, scene of fierce fighting over the past few weeks, African Union mediator Thabo Mbeki announced as he urged the Security Council to move quickly to ensure implementation of the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement between the two sides. – United Nations

This AfricaFocus Bulletin contains the text of the United Nations Security Council summary of the briefing by African Union mediator Thabo Mbeki and by Haile Menkerios, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative to Sudan, as well as of comments made during the debate.

Despite the limitations of diplomatic language, the summary gives a good sense of the approach being taken by the African Union, the United Nations, and the “international community” more generally to the current crisis.

Another AfricaFocus Bulletin sent out today by e-mail, and available on the web at http://www.africafocus.org/docs11/sud1106a.php, contains several articles, as well as links to other sources, on the most recent violence in border areas of South and North Sudan and the need to address the structural issues in North Sudan concerning democracy and the situation of marginalized populations.

For previous AfricaFocus Bulletin’s on Sudan, visit http://www.africafocus.org/country/sudan.php

— Editor’s Note

North, South Sign Interim Agreement to Pull Troops Out of Disputed Abyei Region, Security Council told in Briefing on Sudan

SC/10286, June 20, 2011

Security Council, 6559th Meeting* (AM)

http://reliefweb.int/node/421312

Northern and Southern Sudan today signed an agreement to pull their troops out of the disputed central Abyei region, scene of fierce fighting over the past few weeks, African Union mediator Thabo Mbeki announced as he urged the Security Council to move quickly to ensure implementation of the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement between the two sides.

Briefing the Council via video link from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, shortly after the deal had been reached, Mr. Mbeki, Chairperson of the African Union High Level Implementation Panel, said that after days of discussion, the Government of Sudan and the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM) had agreed to demilitarize resource-rich Abyei and allow an interim force of Ethiopian peacekeepers to step in. The agreement came as Southern Sudan prepared officially to announce its separation from the North on 9 July, following a referendum held at the beginning of the year.

“[This] will bring an end to violence and the threat of violence in the area, so we are really hoping that [the] Security Council will look at this agreement as early as possible and take all the necessary decisions so that the various provisions in the agreement can be implemented,” Mr. Mbeki said, adding that the departure of military forces would also allow thousands of people displaced by fighting in and around Abyei to return to their homes, while allowing relief agencies and workers to restart their humanitarian activities in the area.

Turning to the situation in Southern Kordofan, where bloody clashes between pro-South groups and Government forces had forced thousands of people to flee over the past few months, he said he had just visited the region on Sunday with Haile Menkerios, Special Representative of the Secretary-General, who also participated via videoconference. A subsequent meeting with Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA) leader Abdel-Aziz al-Hilu had been aimed at encouraging the group to participate in a process that would bring a peaceful end to the conflict, he added.

Meanwhile, Mr. Mbeki said he was awaiting word on the arrival in Addis Ababa tomorrow of senior political leaders from Southern Kordofan and Blue Nile States, as well as from Khartoum, for more comprehensive talks on political and security matters. In addition, he said, Mr. Menkerios, who heads the United Nations Mission in the Sudan (UNMIS), had been engaging the Sudanese Government on the urgent need to address the humanitarian situation in Southern Kordofan. “We are hoping to move to that issue immediately and begin comprehensive discussions that will see a final disposition on the matter.”

When Mr. Menkerios addressed the Council, he announced that an agreement had been reached earlier today with Sudan’s Minister of State for Humanitarian Affairs on access to most areas where critical humanitarian situations existed. He expressed hope that shipments would not be severely hampered as of 9 July, saying the United Nations was making plans to ensure a steady flow of supplies after that date. It was also to be hoped that, later today or by tomorrow morning, humanitarian officials would implement what had been agreed in terms of access. He went on to note that discussions on a possible successor United Nations mission in the South were going well, and hailed the agreement to permit Ethiopian troops into Abyei. On the possibility of a border-monitoring mission, he said the two sides had discussed the need for a third party to carry out that task. The African Union High Level Implementation Panel had suggested that such a mission be led by the United Nations and be integrated under a single leadership. There was no opposition thus far to that agreement, and the United Nations was now in the process of liquidating the presence of UNMIS in Northern Sudan, though it would remain fully operational until 9 July. In a post-UNMIS scenario, there would be a need to assist the Implementation Panel at the political level, he said, proposing that the Secretary-General appoint a special envoy to provide good offices in support of the Panel.

Taking the floor ahead of Council members, the representative of Sudan welcomed the “good news” that an initial agreement had been reached on Abyei, saying the announcement would lead stakeholders to believe that outstanding issues would soon be resolved. That was the Sudanese Government’s goal, he added, cautioning the Council to “temper your reactions somewhat” until all pending issues involving the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement were fully addressed. In a later address, he stressed that the Sudan Armed Forces had intervened in Abyei after a “very long period of restraint and patience” due to the failure of Southern Sudan’s President to comply with the agreements and withdraw his troops. “We had no other choice but to intervene,” he said.

A representative of the Government of South Sudan reaffirmed its commitment to full implementation of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement, but expressed concern about recent violations, armed attacks and destabilization efforts in the South by the Government of Sudan, as well as its failure to work in good faith to implement existing agreements on Abyei’s final status. He said he was pleased, however, that the parties had just signed an agreement, and established a timetable for the North’s full and unconditional withdrawal, which must be implemented swiftly. Yet, he cautioned that the new accord should not attempt to prejudge Abyei’s final status, and must only be used to restore peace. “Abyei belongs to both the North and the South, and will continue to do so until the people of Abyei decide otherwise,” he emphasized.

In her remarks, the representative of the United States called for the immediate deployment of Ethiopian troops and announced that her delegation would shortly circulate a draft resolution that would authorize their deployment. “Now comes the crucial task of full and timely implementation,” she said, warning that the challenges in Abyei must be tackled alongside measures to end the fighting in Southern Kordofan and Blue Nile States, address the rapidly deteriorating humanitarian situation there and ensure the delivery of humanitarian aid to that region. She was also among those calling for an investigation into the violence to determine whether war crimes had been committed.

Speaking in his national capacity, the representative of Gabon, which holds the Council’s presidency for June, said that once hostilities ended, both parties must show the political will to overcome the crises in Abyei and Southern Kordofan. He invited them to implement the conclusions agreed in Addis Ababa, urging them to use the window of opportunity to restore trust.

Also speaking were the representatives of the United Kingdom, Germany, South Africa, Portugal, Russian Federation, Colombia, France, Bosnia and Herzegovina, India, China, Lebanon, Nigeria and Brazil.

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