The Sudanese committee for the administration of Abyei area Wednesday said it has received an invitation from the African Union to resume meetings with its South Sudanese counterpart from 9 to 10 November in Addis Ababa.
Ownership of Abyei, a disputed border region contested by Sudan and South Sudan, remained contentious after the world’s youngest nation split from Sudan in July 2011.
There is no joint administration between Sudan and South Sudan, as the Ngok Dinka refuse the formation of Abyei Joint Oversight Committee (AJOC). Instead, they call to hold a referendum without the Sudanese pastoralist Misseriya.
Now, there are two committees one for the Misseriya appointed by the Sudanese government and another for the Ngok Dinka appointed by Juba government.
The head of the Sudanese committee Hassan Ali Nimir told the semi-official Sudanese Media Center (SMC) Wednesday the meeting would discuss the outcome of the May 2017 meeting in which the two sides were urged to establish the political institutions according to the June 20th, 2011 agreement between Sudan and South Sudan.
On 30 May 2017, after more than two years of suspension, the two AJOC parties held an extraordinary session convened by the African Union. The latter urged them to commit to a functioning Joint Oversight Committee as a forum in which contentious issues could be addressed.
Also, the two parties signed an outcome document, in which they agreed that they would resume bimonthly meetings and that the next meeting would be held in the last week of July in Addis Ababa. But since they didn’t meet again.
Nimir pointed out that the traditional leadership from Misseriya and Ngok Dinka will also participate in the meeting to discuss issues of peaceful coexistence as well as restoring social norms between members of the two tribes.
On 27 June 2011, the Security Council, by its resolution 1990, responded to the urgent situation in Abyei by establishing the United Nations Interim Security Force for Abyei (UNISFA).
UNISFA’s establishment came after Sudan’s government and the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM) reached an agreement in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, to demilitarise Abyei and let Ethiopian troops monitor the area.
The Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) provides that the contested territory remains part of the north until the organisation of a referendum determines its fate.
The difference over who will participate in the referendum prevents the two countries from holding the agreed referendum.
However, the Dinka Ngok organised a unilateral referendum from 27 to 29 October 2013 to say they want to join the Republic of South Sudan.
Khartoum, Juba, the African Union and the international community refused to recognise the outcome of the vote.
(ST)