Abyei: A test of African solutions for African problems
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By Luka Biong Deng
June 30, 2013 - Abyei is one of the issues that dominated the quality
of relations between Southern Sudan and South Sudan since the
independence of Sudan in 1956 and it will continue to do the same
after the independence of South Sudan. The transfer of the Ngok Dinka
by the British colonial administration in 1905 from Southern Sudan to
Northern Sudan with the good intention of protecting them from the
barbaric slave raids by the Arab nomads has turned into misery and
suffering that will continue to haunt the Ngok Dinka. Despite the
effective participation of the Ngok Dinka in the first and second
civil war that ended with peace agreements that addressed the issue of
Abyei, yet the final status of Abyei remains to be concluded.
Unlike the way the issue of Abyei was vaguely addressed in the Addis
Ababa Agreement in 1972, the Sudan Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA)
addressed it with much clarity with Abyei having its protocol as one
of the six protocols of the CPA. In fact the Abyei Protocol was
mediated by Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD). In
particular, the Abyei Protocol provided for a referendum for the Ngok
Dinka of Abyei to determine their final status and to establish Abyei
Boundaries Commission (ABC) to define and demarcate the area of the
nine (9) Ngok Dinka chiefdoms (not Misseriyia Arab nomads) that was
transferred in 1905 from Southern Sudan to Northern Sudan. The CPA
made it very clear that the report of the ABC shall be final and
binding. The ABC presented its report to the Presidency of Sudan
(Bashir, the President of Sudan, Dr John Garang, the President of
Southern Sudan and Ali Osman, the Vice President of Sudan) on 14th
July 2005. The report of the ABC clearly defined the area of the Ngok
Dinka as approximately 18,559 square kilometers.
Bashir and his party rejected the final and binding ABC report and
that marked the beginning of clear abrogation of one of the provisions
of the CPA that was paradoxically signed by the government of Bashir.
This dispute over this report lasted more than three years and
resulted in eruption of war in the Abyei Area in May 2008 that caused
massive displacement and loss of innocent lives. In an effort to save
CPA and to maintain peace and stability after the invasion of Abyei by
Bashir in May 2008, Bashir and President Salva signed on 8th June 2008
the Abyei Roadmap for the return of the displaced Ngok Dinka and
implementation of Abyei Protocol. In this Roadmap, the SPLM as a
signatory of the CPA and upon the request of the Government of Sudan
accepted to take the matter of dispute over the report of ABC to the
final and binding international arbitration. On 7th July 2008, the
Government of Sudan and SPLM as signatories of the CPA signed the
Arbitration Agreement on Delimiting (defining) the Abyei Area.
The Abyei Arbitration Tribunal under the facilitation of the Hague
Permanent Court of Arbitration and after a process that took nine (9)
months that involved the two Parties and almost the entire leaders of
Ngok Dinka and Arab Misseriyia nomads passed its ruling on 22nd July
2009 and redefined the area of Ngok Dinka as approximately 10,460
square kilometers (almost 54 percent less than the area defined by the
ABC). The Tribunal noted that its decision is meant to ensure the
inclusion and participation of most members of the Ngok Dinka in Abyei
referendum as its main targeted community. While Bashir welcomed the
decision of the Abyei Arbitration Tribunal with emotional statement on
22nd July 2009 that they have won the case, President Salva on the
same day described the decision as a victory for all Sudanese and
reaffirmed the commitment of the SPLM to the full implementation of
the decision as a final settlement of the issue of Abyei Area.
While the ruling of the Abyei Arbitration Tribunal was seen to resolve
not only the determination of the area of the Ngok Dinka but also the
eligible participants in Abyei referendum, Bashir insisted that the
Arab Misseriyia nomads to participate in Abyei referendum and refused
to establish Abyei Referendum Commission to be chaired by a nominee of
the SPLM as previously agreed upon by the parties. Bashir invaded
Abyei again in May 2011 and displaced about 150,000 Ngok Dinka from
their home areas and the referendum of Abyei did not take place
simultaneously with that of Southern Sudan on 9th July 2011 as
stipulated in the CPA.
In order to rescue Abyei Protocol and to assist the return of Ngok
Dinka to their home areas, the two parties agreed on 20th June 2011 on
the Temporary Arrangements for the Administration and Security of the
Abyei Area. In particular the agreement provides for the process for
resolving the final status of Abyei with a commitment by the Parties
to consider, in good faith, proposals that the AUHIP shall make to
resolve the final status of Abyei. The AUHIP made six proposals for
resolving the final status of Abyei but Bashir and President Salva
could not agree on any of these six proposals.
In an effort to put the two countries on track of peace, the AU came
with a Roadmap that provides a framework within a time-bound of three
months for resolving holistically all the pending issues between the
two states including the final status of Abyei. When the Parties
failed to agree on resolving the issue of Abye, the AUHIP came up on
21st September 2012 with a proposal on the final status of Abyei. This
Proposal provides clarity and addresses fundamental questions of
eligibility for Abyei Referendum (only residents but not nomads), the
date of the referendum (October 2013), the chair of Abyei Referendum
Commission (appointee of the AU Commission) and special status of
Abyei area (status of state with oil revenue allocated to Abyei state
(30%), national government (50%) and localities north of Abyei area in
Southern Kordofan State (20%).
This Proposal was prepared by three prominent African leaders (former
President of South Africa, former President of Nigeria and former
President of Burundi). There is no any other African solution for
African problem than the AUHIP proposal on the final status of Abyei
area. As Bashir has been calling for the issue of Abyei to be resolved
within African context, the AUHIP Proposal on Abyei is an African
proposal prepared by African leaders without any influence from
western countries. Abyei is a litmus test of how AU will stand by its
commitment in resolving African problems by Africans themselves.
Luka Biong Deng is a senior member of South Sudan’s ruling party the
SPLM. He is currently a fellow at Harvard Kennedy School. He can be
reached at luk
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