Abyei: UNICEF advises against Abyei repatriation now

UPDATE ON MONDAY, JULY 27, 2009 16:45 GMT UK: APPARENTLY, THERE ARE A NUMBER OF INACCURACIES REGARDING UNICEF IN THE FOLLOWING STORY.  More on this to follow later - and, if possible, a formal correction from UNICEF.Meanwhile, note to self.  I have just clicked into the following articles at Sudan Radio Service and Sudan Tribune and found they have been deleted.  So I did a search on Google for the Sudan Tribune article and found a cache of the original copy.  Consequently, for my own reference, I have today inserted the following line into the article excerpted here below:  
by Ngor Arol Garang (ABYEI) July 23, 2009

Also, I inserted the word "said" in line 2 of this blog post.
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Update on Tuesday, July 28, 2009 17:35 GMT UK:  Yesterday, I received an email from Sudan Radio Service saying they had received a call that morning from Douglas Armour from UNICEF in Juba.  Apparently, there are a number of inaccuracies in the following news based on an article in Sudan Tribune:  UNICEF do not have staff as named in the Sudan Tribune article and they never said what was attributed to them.  Now, I expect and await a press release from Douglas Armour to surface via Sudan Radio Service asap.  If such a retraction never materialises, I shall think it mighty fishy that he, as Communications Manager for UNICEF Southern Sudan Area Programme goes around getting news articles on UNICEF pulled from websites without providing clarification and/or press release concerning UNICEF's news and views on the repatriation of IDPs currently in Abyei.  More more here later.

Update on Wednesday, July 29, 2009:  Email received today from Sudan Radio Service:

Correction: following our story about the possible repatriation of IDPs in Abyei on 24 July, we received this statement from UNICEF in Juba:

"Recently, a Sudan Radio Service report suggested that UNICEF officials had made statements on the humanitarian situation in Abyei and Agok in Sudan.

UNICEF wishes to put on record that none of its officials have made any recent statements regarding the humanitarian situation in Abyei or Agok."

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Saturday, July 25, 2009

On Wednesday, as noted here at Sudan Watch, South Sudan's Vice President Riek Machar said: "We should start the process of repatriation of the Abyei area as soon as possible".

Yesterday, UNICEF country director, Arop Alor Arop, said IDPs should harvest their crops first and wait for the situation to calm down before returning to their villages.

Also, UNICEF emergency officer, Heaven Johnson, said everybody is hoping people come back to their villages as soon as possible now that the dispute over Abyei town and its surrounding is settled:  "At the same time we also believe it would be prudent to assume that by September over one thousand could have gone back and that we would still have four thousand displaced through the year."

On a visit to Abyei July 9, South Sudan President Salva Kiir Mayardit, promised that his government would embark on developmental plans using unity development funds.

Sources:  See here below.

Sudan Radio Service report Friday, 24 July 2009  - UNICEF Advises Against Abyei Repatriation Now:

(Abyei) – The United Nations Children’s Fund has warned that the repatriation of internally displaced persons in Abyei should not be carried out now until the situation has calmed down.

Speaking to Sudan Radio Service from Abyei, UNICEF’s country director, Arop Alor Arop, said that repatriation cannot take place given the current political situation on the ground following the ruling by the Permanent Court of Arbitration.

[Arop Alor Arop]: “They will go back to their villages after the situation has calmed down following the ruling of the Abyei arbitration on 22 July. Because right now we are not sure of what will happen and also they should harvest their crops first.”

Arop said that the IDPs in Lou, Marial Machak, Tanly, Makier Abior, Rumamir, Mabuk and Majak are all getting support from international NGOs.

[Arop Alor Arop]: “They get food from the World Food Program and other NGOs like UNICEF and the Red Cross. Mercy Corps helps the IDPs with medicine and CRS helps them with water. Those are the only NGOs which are providing the basic necessities.”

The SRRC deputy director in Abyei, Akot Manchok, said that they started repatriation in December 2008. But they still have nearly 800 families in each of these villages. He explains the difficulties the IDPs face.

[Akot Manchok]: “The first thing is security and also the villages are not accessible because the roads are not good in the area which connects the villages and the town. In Abyei those things are there, but they lack many things. For example, in the hospital, the doctors are not available because the government here has no budget. The budget was not approved, so no doctors can be employed to serve the people in this area.”

Akot Manchok said that many children do not go to school because of a lack of teachers in the area.

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Excerpt of article from Sudan Tribune, Friday, 24 July 2009 - UN warns more IDPs from Abyei should wait in camps till next year - by Ngor Arol Garang (ABYEI) July 23, 2009:

Speaking to reporters today in Agok, UNICEF emergency officer, Heaven Johnson said everybody is hoping people come back to their villages as soon as possible now that the dispute over Abyei town and its surrounding is settled.

"At the same time we also believe it would be prudent to assume that by September over one thousand could have gone back and that we would still have four thousand displaced through the year," added Johnson, who recently visited Agok, south of Abyei.

He further said hundreds of children were at risk of not attending schools last year, mainly due to the destruction of school buildings by the military personnel in Abyei and the fact that some schools were used to shelter soldiers and IDPS in other villages.

However, Arop Matiok, from the emergency response unit of the Abyei administration said 507 families had returned as of 15 July.

"We are now beginning the process of repatriating people housed in schools as many of those from camps have returned," he said.

But, he was quick to add that families wishing to return have many concerns.

In Agok, the school that housed the largest number of IDPs has already been closed and two more would be shut down soon as residents vacate them.

"The school my daughters attended in our village in Abyei was destroyed last year. It has not re-opened. If we go back now, they could miss a whole year, said Awut Deng an IDP staying with her small brother currently studying at Agok primary school.

She said her father had suggested the children be enrolled at a school in Agok.

According to local reports, between 30 and 50 schools across Abyei particularly for girls were destroyed by militants in Abyei after May clash between SPLA and SAF.

GOSS President Salva Kiir Mayardit when he visited Abyei on July 9 promised that his government would embark on developmental plans using unity development funds. Also, children have already started going back to schools in Abyei this year.

But, many residents remain skeptical and say there is so much to be done here. "Everything is in ruined and it will take months and years for life to return to normality, said Arop Ayiik, 50, a businessman who has been in the area even after the destruction.

Earlier, Heaven said people who are still in camps would need continued humanitarian support. The international response had been insufficient and it was host communities who had offered the bulk of support to IDPs, he added.

However," these hosts are now anxious that their guests return to their own homes. It has been a big strain to support additional people. We want them to return now," said Awut Arop Kuol who sells tea in Agok town and has been hosting her relatives from Abyei since 15 May 2008.

Earlier, Heaven, said apart of education, IDPs continue to worry about food security and other related issues. Although government of Southern Sudan purchased sorghums to support hunger stricken region this year, to support returning families, residents say little is being done.

They also say local prices of basic items are very high. There are frequent shortages and it is hard to manage.

Sudan Tribune news Friday 24 July 2009:

• Sudan president says Abyei referendum to include all tribes   
  
• Sudan pleads with UK for debt relief   
  
• International community welcomes Abyei ruling urges implementation   
  
• Sudanese female journalist prosecuted for supporting another journalist   
  
• Peacekeepers starts patrolling in Abyei   
  
• Ethiopia electoral body consults on financing of political parties   
  
• UN warns more IDPs from Abyei should wait in camps till next year   
  
• SPLM in Yirol East County elects new secretary   

Click on Abyei label here below for related reports and updates on Abyei.

Abyei: Dinka Ngok Chief Kuol Alor: 'Dinka Ngok are Sudanese and should be treated equally'

Yesterday, on his return to Khartoum from the Abyei tribunal in The Netherlands, one of the Dinka Ngok chiefs, Chief Kuol Alor, said that NCP is happy because the oil-fields are now considered part of north Sudan.

Responding to President al-Bashir’s statement that he will provide services to the Messiriya tribe in a speech he made on Wednesday night in which he acknowledged the decision of the court, Chief Kuol Alor said that the Dinka Ngok are also Sudanese and should be treated equally.

From Sudan Radio Service, Friday, 24 July 2009:
Dinka Ng’ok Condemns NCP Reaction to Court Decision

(Khartoum) – The head of the NCP delegation to The Hague, Mohammed Ahmed al-Dir-Diri, described the decision of the Permanent Court of Arbitration as a victory for the National Congress Party. On Wednesday the court had ruled that boundaries in the oil-rich area around Abyei should be redrawn.

Speaking to Sudan Radio Service from Khartoum on Friday on his return from The Hague, one of the Dinka Ngok chiefs, Chief Kuol Alor, said that NCP is happy because the oil-fields are now considered part of north Sudan.

[Kuol Alor]: “They consider it a victory because they feel that most of the oil-fields east of the area which is now out of our area are in their hands. And they will not share with the SPLM and the Dinka Ngok. It has gone to the north and they can do whatever they want. As the president said yesterday, he will use the oil revenue to provide services for the Messiriya. If we start talking this kind of language we will end up arriving at a dead end.”

Responding to President al-Bashir’s statement that he will provide services to the Messiriya tribe in a speech he made on Wednesday night in which he acknowledged the decision of the court, Chief Alor said that even the Dinka Ngok are Sudanese and should be treated equally.

[Kuol Alor]: “We will know whether there will be secession in Sudan after a few months. Here the president himself forgot that he is the president of the whole of Sudan, he is supposed to know that these are his people. And we know it is not strange for him to say so, because the Abyei conflict began twenty years ago. He never visited the Abyei area. You can’t rule for twenty years and not even visit the Abyei area once. Now they are celebrating over the petroleum which has been given to them.”

Kuol Alor, a Dinka Ngok Chief, was speaking to Sudan Radio Service from Khartoum on Friday.

Click on Abyei label here below for related reports and updates.

Abyei: Organization of the Islamic Conference welcomes PCA's ruling on Abyei, Sudan

From Examiner.com by Lawrence Gist in LA, 22 July 2009:
Organization of the Islamic Conference Welcomes Arbitration Ruling on Abyei in the Sudan

Organization of the Islamic Conference Secretary General Prof. Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu said today in a released statement that the OCI welcomed the ruling issued by the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) in The Hague on the Abyei boundary line between north and south Sudan.

The Secretary General hailed the government of the Sudan and the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) for their full commitment to implement the ruling by the arbitral tribunal. He further expressed the hope that ruling by the Court would help in consolidating peace and bringing together the citizens at Abyei area and the voluntary return of the displaced people to strengthen peaceful co-existence.

While supporting the efforts of the Government of the National Unity in restoring peace and stability in the Sudan, the Secretary General expressed the OIC's full commitment to assist Sudan in this regard.

Click on Abyei label here below for related reports and updates.

Abyei: Sudanese President Omar Al-Bashir backs oil area ruling 'for all'

The President of the Republic, Omar Al Bashir, said the right to vote in the Abyei 2011 referendum will include all the tribes present in the area and not only the Dinka-Ngok.

During a welcome ceremony to NCP's returning delegation from The Hague, Al Bashir confirmed his commitment to implement the arbitration ruling and to support development and stability in the area.

The people of Abyei are made up of Ngok Dinka -- seen as loyal to the former rebel south leadership -- and the Messeria nomads who move in the area following seasonal grazing for livestock and are viewed as northerners.

"All the people in the Abyei area will take part in the referendum," Beshir told the crowd.

Director of Abyei administration, Deng Paul Kuol affirmed that PCA would dispatch specialized panel from the Court to demarcate borders of disputed regions.

Sources: See here below.



Photo: (ST - Sudanese president signs Abyei roadmap agreement - 09 June 2008)

Miraya FM (via ReliefWeb) -Abyei referendum will include all tribes in the area, Al Bashir - Friday 24 July 2009.

Sudan Vision Daily by Al-Sammani Awadallah, Saturday, 25 July 2009 - Al-Bashir Backs PCA Ruling.  Full story:

(Khartoum) - President Al Bashir on Thursday backed an international ruling reducing the borders of Abyei region, but stressed that "all people" in the area would vote in a 2011 referendum on its status.

The ruling, issued on Wednesday by the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague after Khartoum complained that a previous border commission had decided on the wrong frontiers, moved Abyei's eastern, western and northern borders.

"We welcome the resolution and we are committed to the implementation of it," Al-Bashir said

On his part, head of the ruling NCP's delegation, Al Dirdiri Mohammed Ahmed affirmed that the ruling included vital achievements, among which is quashing experts' report. 

He said we presented 11 points out of which the Court accepted 7 of them; besides recovering 10,000 square meters equaling the area of Lebanon, further the ruling placed Hegelig oilfields under the control of the government in the North, adding "with the recovering of such field the provisions in accordance with which South Sudan is granted 50% of oil revenues will no longer be binding. The oil of the region will be purely the property of the North."

He indicated that both parties did not get what they were expecting from the decision, but urged the two parties to continue to implement the decision in spirit of mutual consent.

Al-Heriaka Ezaddine, a Messeriya leader affirmed his tribe's support to President Al-Bashir as well as full cooperation and commitment to the implementation of the decision.

Malik Agar deputy chairman of SPLM called for swift and effective mechanism for the implementation of PCA decision on Abyei. Speaking to reporters at Juba Airport, Agar considered the ruling as victory for both parties to the conflict; reiterating SPLM's welcome and commitment to it.

In this context, Director of Abyei administration, Deng Paul Kuol affirmed that PCA would dispatch specialized panel from the Court to demarcate borders of disputed regions.

From AFP, Thursday, 23 July 2009:
Sudan president backs oil area ruling 'for all'

KHARTOUM — Sudanese President Omar al-Beshir on Thursday backed an international ruling reducing the borders of the oil-rich Abyei region, but stressed that "all people" in the area would vote in a 2011 referendum on its status.

The ruling, issued on Wednesday by the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague after Khartoum complained that a previous border commission had decided on the wrong frontiers, moved Abyei's eastern, western and northern borders.

"We welcome the resolution and we are committed to the implementation of it," Beshir told supporters of his National Congress Party at its headquarters in Khartoum.

But the president stressed that all Abyei's residents would take part in the region's 2011 referendum -- a pointed remark to a crowd that included leaders of the Messeria Arab nomads.

Deadly clashes broke out in May 2008 in the region, an area claimed by both north and south Sudan, who ended their 22-year war in a 2005 peace deal.

The people of Abyei are made up of Ngok Dinka -- seen as loyal to the former rebel south leadership -- and the Messeria nomads who move in the area following seasonal grazing for livestock and are viewed as northerners.

"All the people in the Abyei area will take part in the referendum," Beshir told the crowd.

"Even if it means giving up my post, I will be with you," he added, in an apparent direct remark to the Messeria.

Under the 2005 peace deal, Abyei will hold a referendum in 2011 on whether to retain special status within north Sudan, or join the south, where a simultaneous vote will be held on independence.

Many in south Sudan are counting on a "yes" vote for independence, and want it to extend over as much of Abyei's oilfields as possible.

The north is determined to retain the precious resources.

Click on Abyei label here below for related reports and updates.

Abyei: Unity state calls on presidency to speed up north-south border demarcation

Yesterday, Unity state’s advisor on press affairs, Gor Paul Ngundeng, said Unity's call on Sudan's presidency for the immediate demarcation of boundaries is to help encourage peaceful coexistence between the citizens of Southern Kordofan and Unity state.  Mr Ngundeng is quoted as saying:

"We, the people of Unity state, are demanding the ownership of our towns such as the Heglig, Karasana, Kor Machar and Kurudi.

The problem right now is that Karasana is not under our [Unity state] administration and according to the north-south boundary of 1956 it should belong to Unity state. So should Heglig.

There were no conflicts between us [Unity state] and our brothers in Kordofan until the discovery of the oil in the area. What we the citizens of Unity state want is the land, not the resources.

We are saying the oil is for the country but the land belongs to the citizens of Unity state.”

Source: Sudan Radio Service, Friday, 24 July 2009.  Full story:
Unity State Calls for Quick Border Demarcation

(Bentiu) – The authorities in Unity State are calling on the Presidency to speed up north-south border demarcation.

Unity state’s advisor on press affairs, Gor Paul Ngundeng, spoke to Sudan Radio Service by phone from Bentiu on Friday.

[Gor Paul Ngundeng]: “We, the people of Unity state, the citizens and the government, were waiting for the arbitration ruling on Abyei area like other Sudanese citizens in the south and north. We, the people of Unity state, are demanding the ownership of our towns such as the Heglig, Karasana, Kor Machar and Kurudi. We are calling on the presidency to speed up the border demarcation process between us [Unity state] and Kordofan, in coordination with local authorities, chiefs, higher authorities and civil society organizations including the citizens of Kordofan, Upper Nile and Unity states.”

Ngundeng said the call for the immediate demarcation of boundaries is to help encourage peaceful coexistence between the citizens of Southern Kordofan and Unity state.

[Gor Paul Ngundeng]: “The problem right now is that Karasana is not under our [Unity state] administration and according to the north-south boundary of 1956 it should belong to Unity state. So should Heglig. In the past, they used to say that Heglig belonged to the central government because it has oil-fields but the issues was not raised because there were no conflicts between us [Unity state] and our brothers in Kordofan until the discovery of the oil in the area. What we the citizens of Unity state want is the land, not the resources. In Sudan in the past, the country’s income was coming from Al-Gezira agricultural schemes. Thirty years ago, the country’s income started coming from Unity state in the Heglig area. That is why we are saying the oil is for the country but the land belongs to the citizens of Unity state.”

Gor Paul Ngundeng, the Unity state advisor on Press Affairs, was speaking to Sudan Radio Service by phone from Bentiu on Friday.

Declaration on Abyei ruling by South Sudan's President Salva Kiir Mayardit

Quote of the Day
"22 years of warfare have demonstrated to most Sudanese that lasting resolutions to intractable problems are more easily achieved around a negotiating table than through the barrel of the gun." - Salva Kiir Mayardit, President of the Government of South Sudan, 22 July 2009.

Some more reactions in Sudan to Abyei ruling

From Sudan Radio Service, Thursday, 23 July 2009 (Juba):

Salva Kiir Reacts to Abyei Ruling
The President of the Government of southern Sudan, Salva Kiir, reacted to the decision of the Permanent Court of Arbitration at a press conference in Juba on Wednesday evening. The following is a partial transcript of his speech.

“In my capacity as chairman of the SPLM and President of the Government of southern Sudan, I hereby declare to the people of Abyei, to the entire membership of the SPLM, to the people of southern Sudan, to the entire Sudanese nation and the international community, that the SPLM accepts the ruling that was handed down today at The Hague by the tribunal on Abyei. This is not to say that the decision was wholly in favor of the SPLM. Far from it, indeed there are aspects of the decision that will be received with disappointment by the people of the Abyei area, particularly when the full details begin to be observed. But we had given our word and by our word we will stand.

Our understanding is that this decision is only a title deed. It does not mean that the non-Dinka residents from other ethnic groups will be asked to leave the area to the Ngok people. The Dinka and the Messiriya, our Messiriya compatriots, the Ngok Dinka and other southern ethnic groups in Warrap, Northern Bahr el-Ghazal and Unity states have always affirmed their willingness to give access to the Messiriya and their livestock to the pastures and watering points in their areas during the dry season. This has been the nature of the relations between these ethnic groups since time immemorial.

There has been a lot of speculation over the last few days about the likelihood of some violence in the wake of the Abyei verdict. I have consistently dismissed these wishful conclusions by self-styled political analysts and strategists. My reasoning has been that 22 years of warfare have demonstrated to most Sudanese that lasting resolutions to intractable problems are more easily achieved around a negotiating table than through the barrel of the gun.”

Salva Kiir was speaking at a press conference in Juba on Wednesday evening.

From Sudan Radio Service, Thursday 23 July 2009 (Juba):
CPA Partners Discuss Abyei and the Census
The verdict by the Permanent Court of Arbitration has so far been greeted with enthusiasm by both signatories to the CPA, the NCP and the SPLM. Sudan Radio Service spoke to a prominent member of each party to see if they were as happy with the verdict as the initial reactions of their parties led us to believe.

First we spoke to the SPLM Secretary of Information in the southern sector, Bol Makueng, in Juba.

[SRS]: Some NCP senior officials accusing the SPLM of planning to boycott the elections. Is the SPLM really planning to boycott the election?

[Bol Makueng]: “No, the SPLM is not planning to boycott the elections; instead it is the SPLM that has always been championing democratic rights in the country. It is the SPLM position to see to it that democratic elections are conducted in the fairest way as possible."

[SRS]: The SPLM is opposing the census results and the NCP is saying they are not going to revise the census result, what is SPLM going to do?

[Bol Makueng]: "The census results were actually fabricated and it is actually rigging elections before they happen. So the SPLM is asking the NCP to see to it that the required procedures that are democratic and just are taken."

[SRS]: You say that the census results were fabricated. Did the President of the Government of southern Sudan sign and approve the census result?

[Bol Makueng]: "Salva Kiir has not accepted the census results, if he had accepted the census results, he would have sat down with the whole entire SPLM to convince them of the rationale behind it. What happened with the census results in those countries which are not like Sudan is that they actually determine the wealth and power-sharing of the country. What the NCP did what they did because they have run out of other cards, the only thing left to them was just to rig the census results. They gave the 6 prominent northern states 50 percent of the seats and they also have control of getting seats from other areas, where they decided to put certain numbers that will give them a comparative advantage over any other party. In fact, the NCP can say anything because that is what they have always done in Sudan. What has happened with the census results is a great violation of whatever was agreed in the CPA as a fair way of resolving problems in this country."

[SRS]: The national election commission has announced that it has established 17 constituencies in the north and 8 in the south. What is your reaction to this?

[Bol Makueng]: "I think that the National Electoral Committee was mistaken in the first place to actually accept those results when they knew that they were rigged. The constituency boundary demarcation must be demarcated in line with what was agreed in the CPA. Because the CPA has allotted 34 % - a third of the country - to southern Sudan, that was agreed. Now the NCP is working outside the CPA."

[SRS]: The southern Sudan election commission is claiming that they do not have funds for them to be able to operate.

[Bol Makueng]: "Yes, in fact we are supposed to get our money from the oil money and that money has not been forthcoming as planned. The people who control the oil revenue do not show us exactly how much has come and how much is to come. The NCP is the one controlling all the resources of the country, especially the oil money. How do you expect them to fund a democratic system?"

[SRS]: Yes, but you are funding the CPA celebrations in Western Equatoria to the tune of 66 million SDP. Can’t it be divided and channeled into supporting the southern Sudan electoral commission?

[Bol Makueng]: "The problem with that money is that it comes from donors and it was actually destined for that project. We cannot actually turn money around to do things which were not planned for."

[SRS]: The SPLM says that they are happy with the decision of the Permanent Court of Arbitration, but what has SPLM gained from the verdict?

[Bol Makueng]: "First of all, that the nine chiefs of Dinka Abyei have now been given a territory was something that did not exist before. Now the people have their own territory, they are going to exercise self-determination behind a known boundary."

[SRS]: So you don’t care about the Bamboo oil field and the Heglig oil field?

[Bol Makueng]: "Don’t say we don’t care; we are still going to mark those things on the ground because the ground marking has not yet taken place. What has happened are statements and papers that have been declared and these are theoretical areas. We will go to the practical demarcation, whereby boundaries must pass in areas that are known to people."

Sudan Radio Service then asked Dr. Rabbie Abdullaati, the advisor to the Ministry of information in [Government of National Unity] GONU to react to the remarks made by Bol Makueng.

Dr. Rabbi defended the NCP, saying that the claims by the SPLM on the fabrication of the census results are baseless.

[Dr. Rabbie Abdullaati]: “Not at all fabricated. All the steps of the census were monitored by international and regional organizations and carried out by technical people, and even the census in the south was completed and monitored by the Government of southern Sudan. The federal government did not take part in the monitoring of the census in southern Sudan. I don’t think that the SPLM is correct to involve the census in order to obstruct the elections from being carried out next year.”

Dr. Rabbie rejected the accusation that NCP has fabricated the census in order to acquire more wealth.

[Dr. Rabbie Abdullaati]: “No, actually this is not correct completely. They are only depending on these false reasons because the results of the census show that the share in power and in wealth that the SPLM got during the interim period will be reduced. They will not have the same percentage that was given to them during the interim period of the CPA. Actually, they say that the results of the census will affect the constituencies in the elections. This I think is the reason for their rejection of the results. If they want to win, they should enter the elections with political programs so that the SPLM can win the elections in the south and have the same power that they enjoyed during the CPA interim period."

Dr. Rabbie insisted that the SPLM and the NCP are involved in its allocation.

[Dr. Rabbie Abdullaati]: “About the oil money, there is the Ministry of Finance and there is the state Minister of Finance also belonging to the SPLM in the federal Ministry of Finance. And there is a special organ agreed upon by the SPLM and the NCP to distribute the oil revenue and on regular basis the share which is for the southern Sudan government is transferred to the bank in Juba and I don’t think that there is any problem in the distribution of oil revenue because no sums of money are being set aside to fund the elections or for the interest of one party. There is a special agency which works in coordination with some of the officials in GOSS. All of them sit and see and check the revenue and distribute it according to the provision of the CPA."

SRS asked Dr. Rabbi if the NCP was happy with the ruling which decreed that two major oilfields should be handed over to the North.

[Dr. Rabbie Abdullaati]: “Actually we don’t consider that now the NCP has the oil fields and the SPLM has nothing. The resolution actually concentrated on the border of Abyei and Abyei now doesn’t belong to the south or the north. There is a special protocol. When the time comes to decide self-determination, then people of Abyei will have complete liberty to decide either to be part of the north or part of the south in case of secession of the south from Sudan”.

Dr. Rabbie Abdullaati and Bol Makueng spoke to Sudan Radio Service on Thursday.

Photo: An aerial shot of Abyei town, taken on July 21, 2009. International arbitrators on Wednesday defused the threat of a flare-up in Africa's longest running civil war as north and south Sudan accepted a ruling to redraw the boundaries of the oil-rich Abyei region. (AFP/Peter Martell)



Photo: A resident of Abyei marches with the Southern Sudan flag during celebrations following the Permanent Court of Arbitration's decision on the Abyei boundary on July 22, 2009.  (AFP/UNMIS/Tim Mckulka) 



Photo: Sudanese women celebrate the decision of the Permanent Court of Arbitration in the Hague in Abyei, central Sudan, Wednesday, 22 July 2009. (Tim McKulka/UNMIS/Reuters) Hat tip: Christian Science Monitor



Photo: Overview of The Great Hall of Justice at the Peace Palace in The Hague, Netherlands, Wednesday, July 22, 2009. An international arbitration panel has awarded the Sudanese government control over a large oil field, settling a boundary dispute with southern Sudan that led to bloodshed last year. The five member Permanent Court of Arbitration affirmed the northern boundary of the Abyei region as set by a 2005 boundary commission, but drew new boundaries in the east and west that placed the Heglig oil fields and the Nile oil pipeline under control of the Khartoum government. (AP Photo/Ermindo Armino)



Photo: Members of the delegation of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) are seen at The Great Hall of Justice at the Peace Palace in The Hague, Netherlands, Wednesday, July 22, 2009.  (AP Photo/Ermindo Armino)



Photo: Members of the northern government delegation are seen at The Great Hall of Justice at the Peace Palace in The Hague, Netherlands, Wednesday, July 22, 2009. (AP Photo/Ermindo Armino) Wed Jul 22, 2009.

Note comments (27 so far) at Sudan Tribune article, Thursday 23 July 2009 - SPLM Chairman declares acceptance of Abyei ruling - by James Gatdet Dak July 22, 2009 (Juba):

The Chairperson of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM) has declared the acceptance of the ruling on the boundaries of the disputed area of Abyei by the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) in The Hague.



Photo: VP of South Sudan government, Dr Riek Machar from The Hague informing by phone Sudan’s FVP and GOSS President Salva Kiir about the award of Abyei Arbitration Tribunal on July 22, 2009 (photo Moses Lomayat)

Salva Kiir Mayardit who also wears two other hats as the First Vice President of Sudan and President of the semi-autonomous Government of Southern Sudan, shortly after the ruling on Wednesday, issued an official statement urging the people of Abyei, Southern Sudan, Sudan and international community in general to stand behind the ruling and support its implementation.

On Wednesday, in The Hague, the Permanent Court of Arbitration redefined the new boundaries of Abyei in a ruling which was final and binding.

Delegations of the SPLM, led by the Deputy Chairperson, Dr. Riek Machar and the National Congress Party’s led government of Sudan, led by Al-Diri Diri Mohamed, attended the declaration of the ruling in The Hague.

Dr. Riek Machar in a statement shortly after the announcement of the ruling described the verdict on Abyei as a “victory for the Sudanese people and victory for peace” in the country. Aldiri Diri also called the ruling a “victory.”

In Juba, citizens generally welcomed the ruling, but were quick to express their concern that the contested oil fields of Higlig had fallen outside of Abyei boundaries to the east.

Higlig oil fields were contested between Abyei Area, Southern Kordufan and Unity state.

The Minister of Legal Affairs and Constitutional Development, Michael Makuei Lueth, explained in a televised interview after the ruling that the fate of the area under which Higlig oil fields fall will be resolved in the North-South border demarcation process.

“What we want is Abyei Area [of nine Ngok Dinka chiefdoms] not oil fields,” he explained, adding that the issue of Higlig oil fields will be tackled by the North-South Border Committee.

The contest on the fate of the oil fields in the next stage will be between Southern Kordufan and Unity state; both of which counter-claim the ownership of the territory in accordance with the January 1, 1956 North-South boundary.

Arop Madut, member of the Southern Sudan Legislative Assembly in Juba representing Abyei Area, described the ruling as a “big achievement,” adding that it had brought back to Dinka Ngok their territory which was claimed by the Meserriya tribe.

He added that it was now clear what constituted the Ngok Dinka territory that will vote in the 2011 referendum to either join the South or remain with the North.

The details in the document on the Court’s ruling are yet to be availed to the public for clarity.

SudanTribune's latest articles on Abyei :

• Abyei settled by PCA, constitutional conference to apply the CPA
• Sudan’s SPLM says Abyei oil fields still up for grabs
• UN calls on parties to fully cooperate to implement the ruling

• Latest news Thursday 23 July 2009

  • Sudan’s SPLM says Abyei oil fields still up for grabs   
    
  • Darfur security situation has improved - UNAMID   
    
  • Sudan faces difficult economic choices, IMF report shows   
    
  • Ethiopia, South Sudan regional cooperation consultation begins in Juba   
    
  • UN calls on parties to fully cooperate to implement the ruling   
    
  • Northern Bahr El-Ghazal State Governor hails Abyei court ruling   
    
  • SPLM Chairman declares acceptance of Abyei ruling   
    
  • Abyei can be model for peace in Sudan – NCP and SPLM say   
    
  • ARBITRATION AWARD: Abyei for South Sudan and oil fields for North Sudan  

Click on Abyei label here below for related reports and updates.

PCA ABYEI, SUDAN: Final Award, Final Award Map, Photos

On July 22, 2009, the arbitral tribunal rendered its Final Award at the Peace Palace in The Netherlands.

The tribunal has authorized the Permanent Court of Arbiration (PCA) to issue a press release summarising the Final Award in English and in Arabic.

Press Release, July 22, 2009 - English
Press Release, July 22, 2009 - Arabic 

Click here to read Final Award.

Click here to view Final Award Map.

Click here to view Comparative Map of the Abyei Region.

Click here for further details at PCA's website.

ABYEI TRIBUNAL - PHOTOS 
From PCA's website













Photo: Members of the Tribunal, photographed before the November 24, 2008 preliminary procedural meeting in The Hague. Standing from left to right: Professor Gerhard Hafner, Professor Pierre-Marie Dupuy (Presiding Arbitrator), Judge Stephen Schwebel. Seated from left to right: H.E. Judge Awn Al-Khasawneh, Professor W. Michael Reisman. (Source: PCA)



Photo: The parties met on July 11, 2008 in the Office of the PCA Secretary-General to deposit the Arbitration Agreement. Seated from left to right: H.E. Abuelgasim A. Idris, Ambassador of the Republic of Sudan to The Netherlands, Ambassador Dirdeiry Mohamed Ahmed, Agent of the Government of Sudan, Maurizio Brunetti, Special Counsel, PCA; Judith Levine, Registrar and Legal Counsel, PCA; Hon. Dr. Luka Biong Deng, Minister of Presidential Affairs, Government of Southern Sudan and Co-Agent for the SPLM; Mr. Sayed A. Ahmed, Legal Counselor, Embassy of the Republic of Sudan in The Netherlands. (Source:  PCA)

Permanent Court of Arbitration
Peace Palace
Carnegieplein 2
2517 KJ The Hague
The Netherlands
T:+31 70 302 4165
F:+31 70 302 4167
E:bureau@pca-cpa.org

Click on Abyei label here below to view related reports and updates.

S. Sudan VP Riek Machar: 'We should start the process of repatriation of the Abyei area as soon as possible'

From Sudan Radio Service (Abyei) Wednesday 22 July 2009:

Riek Machar -Neither Good News Nor Bad

Sudan Radio Service asked Riek Machar, the Vice-President of southern Sudan, for his reaction to the court’s decision.

[Riek Machar ]: “As you know we respect the findings of the arbitration report, I can not tell you that it is good news or bad news because some areas, that we felt should be in, are out of it. Heglig is out of it, Merem is out of it, and as you know this area is contested by Northern Bahr el-Ghazal. Unity is contesting Heglig, so these issues still have to be discussed.”

Machar expressed his concern that some oil-producing areas may find themselves north of a new border demarcation.

[Riek Machar]: “The Abyei area has oil. In Difra, there is exploration going on within the area demarcated, and as you know, Heglig is where the oil is, and it has also some oil-fields. Yes there are resources in the area generally and revenue-wise it means a lot. However, the people of the south will still have a chance to discuss this ruling with the north-south border committee.”

Machar appealed to the people of Abyei to abide by the decision of the tribunal and he described the next step in the demarcation process.

[Riek Machar]: “Now we have Abyei with a known boundary, we would like the people to calmly accept the ruling. We should start the process of repatriation of the Abyei area as soon as possible so that we can be ready for the referendum that will come in eighteen months. The next step will be to demarcate these borders on the ground. They are now delimited on paper, now we will need a joint survey committee to do the survey on the ground.

Riek Machar was speaking to Sudan Radio Service from The Hague.

Click on Abyei label here below to see related reports and updates.

SPLM's Deng Alor: Abyei will be where the unity of Sudan starts

From Sudan Radio Service, Wednesday, 22 July 2009:

CPA Partners Will Respect PCA Ruling

(Abyei) – Following the announcement of the ruling by the Permanent Court of Arbitration, both signatories of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement, the NCP and the SPLM, reaffirmed their commitment to accepting the court’s verdict.

Deng Alor, a senior SPLM member and the Minister of Foreign Affairs in the Government of National Unity, spoke to Sudan Radio Service in Abyei. He says the decision is binding and that the SPLM will respect the arbitration.

[Deng Alor]: “As we said before, the decision by the Permanent Court of Arbitration is binding on the parties. The SPLM and the people of this area will respect and implement that decision. 

With regard to the northern boundaries, as far as the Dinka are concerned, the area remains the same. The court has dismissed the "shared areas" and has annexed the shared areas to the Messiriya. With regards to the east and west, the Dinka have lost some small areas. But all in all, we think the decision by the court is acceptable. There is oil all over the place. It is not only in Heglig. Even in that line, we have to see it on paper and on land so that we can really determine where the wealth is.”

Abdelbagi Gailani is a member of the NCP and the state Minister of Humanitarian Affairs.

[Abdelbagi Gailani]: “We have come here as partners with the SPLM. I am representing the National Congress Party. We are here to be with the indigenous people of Abyei, just to listen to this arbitration result, and as you may have seen here, everybody is committed. I am quite sure that this area will be the focus and it will be where the unity of Sudan starts from this area if we focus on development. There is no distinct line between Dinka and Messiriya in this area. People are intermingling, they are consolidated and they reflect the actual unity of Sudan.”

Abdelbagi Gailani was speaking to Sudan Radio Service in Abyei.

Click on Abyei label here below to see related reports and updates.

Sudan Radio Service interviews Dinka and Messiriya commuity leaders from Abyei

22 July 2009 SRS (Abyei) - Community leaders Pledge to Abide By Ruling - Sudan Radio Service spoke to community leaders in Abyei to get their reaction to the decision of the court of arbitration.  The leader of the Abyei Liberation Front and the former governor of Abyei, Mohammed Omar Al Ansari, said that the court’s verdict was expected.

[Mohammed Omar Al Ansari]: “We were expecting this resolution, because I have always told the media that the resolution will not have a winner or a loser, because this court is for arbitration. It will always move towards conciliatory resolutions, which will lead to peaceful coexistence. Now according to me, this resolution didn’t satisfy our ambitions, but it’s much better than the experts report. This resolution, with it is consequences, will be imposed on both the Dinka Ngok and the Messiriya. They have no alternative except to live together. It is an opportunity to mend the social fabric and create peaceful coexistence between Dinka and Messiriya, and we as Messiriya, we respect this resolution.”

Dr. Zacharia Deng Majuk, is a Dinka Ngok community leader. He too was optimistic that his people would abide by the court’s decision.

Zacharia Deng Majuk]: “Following the judgment which came out today and which the SPLM and NCP accepted, I think we are going to work for the implementation of the decision. We are both from Abyei and we belong to the same community, so you can not say that this issue has politicized but we do know that the SPLM was particularly concerned about the rights of the people here.”

Mohammed Omar Al Ansari and Doctor Zacharia Deng Majuk were speaking to Sudan Radio Service from Abyei.

Click on Abyei label here below for related reports and updates.

ABYEI BOUNDARY, SUDAN: PCA decision favours NCP says delegation chief

From Sudan Radio Service, Wednesday, 22 July 2009:
Decision Favours NCP Says Delegation Chief

(The Hague) – The NCP head of delegation to the Permanent Court of Arbitration, Muhammad al-Diri-Diri, says that the ruling in The Hague has favoured the position of the NCP.

Speaking to journalists in The Hague after the ruling, al-Diri-Diri said that NCP succeeded because the court ruling stated the Heglig oil field is not in the Abyei area.

Muhammad al-Diri-Diri]: “We observed the following: First, all the oil-fields of Heglig were removed from Abyei. We consider this to be a great achievement. These fields were included unfairly to the Abyei area, and now it is returning to the north without a conflict. Secondly, removing the area extending along the Darfur and Kordofan boundaries from the Abyei areas, we consider this an important achievement, because this place was outside the conflict areas for a long period. Thirdly, the return of an area that ranges from between ten to eleven thousand square kilometers out of a total of sixteen thousand square kilometers which was disputed between us and SPLM is a great achievement.”

That was Muhammad al-Diri-Diri, speaking in The Hague.

22 July 2009 – (Nairobi) – Speaking to Sudan Radio Service in Nairobi, Edward Lino, a former chief administrator of Abyei and a senior SPLM member, dismissed the al-Diri-Diri's remarks saying that the main problem was where the people in the area live - not the location of the oil-producing areas.

[Edward Lino]: “They (the NCP) are talking about Meram in the west being redefined in order to know exactly where to put the boundary. In the east, they don't want Heglig and some two other oil-producing areas to be part of the Abyei area. But in fact, Heglig is part of Upper Nile [Unity state], it is not part of the Abyei area, so whatever people like al-Diri-Diri are saying about a success - that it’s a very big success for the National Congress Party because of the oil-producing area, our problem is the human being. Where they live and where they belong. So now the fact that the boundaries have been established should make the Missiriya realize now that they have no claim on the whole Ngok area, which was the problem. They were even talking about boundaries going south of the River Kiir but now the boundary is far, far north of the River Kiir. So we have really succeeded because peace in that area is peace for everybody. It is peace for for the Missiriya, the Dinka, in Aweil, in Twic and for the Nuer and for the other people there. So what we need is peace so that our people can go back and settle and do the things people are doing everywhere else in the world.”

That was Edward Lino, speaking to Sudan Radio Service, in Nairobi.

Click on Abyei label here below for related reports and updates.

ABYEI, SUDAN LATEST: PCA ruled that the eastern and western borders of Abyei should be redrawn, reducing the size of the region (Update 7)

The Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) in The Hague has decided not to accept the boundaries as drawn up by the Abyei Boundary Commission and has ruled that the boundaries of Sudan's disputed oil-producing region of Abyei should be redrawn.

In reaction to the ruling today, Douglas Johnson, who was part of the international panel who drew up the 2005 border proposals, said the Hague agreement had respected ethnic boundaries as well as north and south rivalries.

"Each side can say they were right about something, and each side can come away feeling that they have been given something from this arrangement," he told the BBC World Service.

Speaking in the Abyei town shortly after the PCA announced its decision, Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General in Sudan Ashraf Qazi underlined the importance of a clear and final resolution of Abyei's boundaries.

"Both parties have agreed that this question is now settled. I call on all involved to cooperate to implement the decision according to the plan the parties adopted in recent talks and to guarantee the long term interests of the people of the region in accordance with the PCA," he said.

He emphasized that the decision's primary practical impact would be upon the administrative definition of the Abyei Area.

"The Ngok-Dinka and Misseriya will have all the rights guaranteed to them by the PCA and the Interim Constitution, as well as all of Abyei's people," said Qazi.

Sources:  See here below, full details of initial reports following today's ruling. I am in awe of how quickly the reporters managed to produce such great reports at breakneck speed. Take a look at the quotes Reuters were able to gather.

Many thanks to Sudan Radio Service for being (as far as I know) the first to break the news this morning with this emailed report -

ABYEI LATEST from Sudan Radio Service on Wednesday, 22  July 2009:

The Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague has ruled that the boundaries of Sudan's disputed oil-producing region of Abyei should be redrawn. In todays’s announcement, the PCA ruled that the eastern and western borders of Abyei should be redrawn, reducing the size of the region.

The region is claimed by both north and south Sudan. Fighting in Abyei in April last year left 100 people dead and forced tens of thousands to flee their homes. The town was razed to the ground.

In its decision, which was made public earlier today, the Permanent Court of Arbitration decided not to accept the boundaries as drawn up by the Abyei Boundary Commission. The Commission was set up following the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement in 2005. Its deliberations were rejected by the north.

In Wednesday’s ruling, the PCA ruled that the eastern and western borders of Abyei should be redrawn, reducing the size of the region.

Both the SPLM and the NCP have pledged to abide by the decision of the court but have recently accused each other of moving troops into the area.

Further updates will follow from Sudan Radio Service.

IRIN - BACKGROUND TO THE ABYEI RULING

What is the Abyei Protocol?

A chapter of the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Accord (CPA) (www.sudanarchive.net), which provides for a referendum in 2011 when Abyei will decide whether to join the north or the south, and for a joint administration until then. The protocol outlines how the region's oil revenue is shared between the Northern Government of National Unity (GNU) and the Government of Southern Sudan (GOSS) and enshrines the grazing rights of Misseriya pastoralists who live to the north of Abyei. It also tasked an Abyei Boundaries Commission to "define and demarcate" the area, whose borders are disputed by north and south.

Chapter IV of the CPA states that the people who live in Abyei permanently are of the Ngok section of the Dinka ethnic group. Arab communities, including the Misseriya, traditionally move through the area at certain seasons with their livestock for pasture, water and trade, meaning that the two communities regularly interact - and have clashed in the past.

What is the role of the Permanent Court of Arbitration?

The commission's "final and binding" ruling, issued in July 2005, determined that Abyei was much larger than the northern government claimed. Abyei's size matters because it affects how much oil is apportioned to the area and because in a referendum scheduled for 2011, Abyei's residents are likely to vote to join Southern Sudan's administration. The GNU rejected the ruling by insisting the commission had exceeded its mandate.

Both sides agreed that an Abyei Arbitration Tribunal, sitting at the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague, should decide whether this assertion was valid and by extension whether the commission's boundaries remained in force. They further agreed that if the court found the commission had exceeded its mandate, the court should make a fresh ruling on Abyei's boundaries based on submissions by both parties.

Why is it so important to resolve the dispute?

The 1972 Addis Ababa peace agreement, which ended the first civil war (1956-1972), also included provisions for a referendum among the Abyei Ngok Dinka on whether or not to join what was then a semi-autonomous Southern Region. Failure to implement those provisions was a factor in the re-ignition of civil war in the early 1980s.

It has remained a hotbed of tension since the CPA was signed: in May 2008 clashes displaced tens of thousands of people in Abyei and the town was set on fire. Failure to properly implement the Abyei Protocol is likely to exacerbate not only conflict between local communities but also the increasingly strained relations between Khartoum and GOSS.

Abyei lies at the faultline of Sudan. It encapsulates the cultural and livelihoods divide of the country, but at its best could also exemplify peaceful interdependence at the community level. It is a key stronghold of the South's most powerful ethnic group, the Dinka. It may contain only less than a quarter of the country's current production, but it is possibly the largest proven reserve over which the rest of Sudan may claim control.

- - -

UPDATE 2:

News just in from Aljazeera Wednesday, July 22, 2009 14:06 Mecca Time, 11:06 GMT - Court rules on Sudan Abyei dispute - excerpt:

An international court has redrawn the borders of Sudan's Abyei region to give the Khartoum government control of the Heglig oilfields and the Nile oil pipeline.

Both the Sudanese government and former rebels in the south pledged on Wednesday to abide by the ruling of the Abyei Arbitration Tribunal in The Hague.

"We have made a very important gain in this award," Dirdeiry Mohamed Ahmed, the Sudanese government representative at the tribunal, said.

"This territory includes the disputed oil fields."

UPDATE 3:
Super report from Reuters, 22 Jul 2009 11:30:25 GMT.  Reporting by Andrew Heavens in Abyei, Khalid Abdul Aziz in Khartoum and Aaron Gray-Block in the Hague; Writing by Alastair Sharp in Cairo):INSTANT VIEW: Court ruling on Sudan's Abyei region

(ABYEI, Sudan) - An international court left mostly intact the northern border of Sudan's disputed oil-producing Abyei area on Wednesday, but redefined its eastern and western boundaries.

The borders of Abyei are seen as a key stumbling block in implementation of a battered 2005 north-south peace deal that ended over two decades of civil war fought largely along ethnic and religious lines.

Following are some reactions to the ruling by officials from both sides of the conflict, which is separate from the ongoing unrest in Darfur:

MUTRIF SIDDIG, SUDANESE FOREIGN MINISTRY UNDERSECRETARY REPRESENTING SUDAN'S CENTRAL GOVERNMENT
"We respect this decision. And this decision is final and binding because all the parties agreed from the beginning that the decision of the court was binding and final. Also, the decision guarantees the rights of Misseriya pastoralists... We think the decision is a step forward."

DENG ALOR, FOREIGN MINISTER IN COALITION GOVERNMENT WHO REPRESENTS FORMER SOUTHERN REBELS
"The decision ... is binding on the parties. SPLM (Sudan People's Liberation Movement) and the people of this area will respect and implement that decision with regards to the northern boundaries. The northern boundaries, as far as the Dinka are concerned, remain the same. The court has dismissed the shared area and has annexed the shared area to the Misseriya. With regards to the east and west, the Dinka have lost some small areas ... But all in all we think the decision of the court is acceptable."
"We need to see the line on paper and on land so we really determine where the (oil) wells fall."

SCOTT GRATION, U.S. SPECIAL ENVOY TO SUDAN
"I am very optimistic ... I had an opportunity to drive through Abyei and see the changes. The new building, the new construction, the repairs that have been done. I have also had an opportunity to spend the last month talking to senior members and leaders of the SPLM and the NCP, and I have got to tell you, I'm optimistic. The commitments that these folks have made in words, I am convinced that they will be carried out in deed and that this arbitration decision will be fully implemented. The border will be demarcated and the Dinka and the Misseriya will live for a long time in peace. This area will be one where people can grow up to have and enjoy the benefits that are coming to this region with development. Everyone is committed to this arbitration which is final and binding, and I think it is going to work out just fine."

ASHRAF QAZI, SPECIAL REPRESENTATIVE OF THE U.N. SECRETARY GENERAL FOR SUDAN
"The decision is final and binding on both parties, and both parties have already committed themselves to accept the decision as final and binding ... This will pave the way for the peaceful implementation of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement as a whole. The rights of both communities have been guaranteed as a matter of international law. So even if anybody is not 100 percent satisfied, I do believe this has been a win-win decision for both sides. And both sides deserve to be congratulated for cooperating and committing themselves to the peaceful implementation of this final decision."

ABDEL BAQI AL-JAILANI, STATE MINISTER FOR HUMANITARIAN AFFAIRS FROM SUDAN'S DOMINANT NATIONAL CONGRESS PARTY
"There is no distinct line between Dinka and Misseriya in this area. People are intermingling. They reflect the unity of Sudan. We are looking to this area as a start point for the referendum of 2011. This will be the focal point where Sudan starts to unite... Nobody expected to get 100 percent of what he wanted. But there is a good compromise."
"It is accepted and we are committed to applying it ... The Misseriya will access water and the area. I don't thing there is anything to upset the Misseriya or the north in particular."

RIEK MACHAR, VICE PRESIDENT OF SOUTH SUDAN
"We want peace. We think this decision is going to consolidate the peace ... We came to see justice and it's a decision we will respect.

UPDATE 4:

From BBC News at 12:03 GMT, Wednesday, 22 July 2009 13:03 UK:
Sudanese accept oil border ruling

North and south Sudan say they accept a border ruling by judges in The Hague that gives a big oilfield to the north.

The Permanent Court of Arbitration has redrawn the boundaries of Abyei region, which became a flashpoint during a 22-year-long war between north and south.

The judges decided not to abide by the borders proposed after the 2005 peace deal, which the north had rejected.

Instead it ruled that several areas - including the Heglig oilfied - were not part of Abyei.

Although The Hague court was deciding where Abyei's borders lay rather than who owned the land, analysts say the ruling was crucial in determining the ownership of the oilfields.

Abyei's inhabitants will be asked in a referendum in 2011 whether they want to be a part of north or south Sudan - and analysts say they are likely to opt for a union with the south.

By reducing the size of Abyei compared with the 2005 proposals, the court has effectively awarded more land and mineral wealth to the north.

The BBC's James Copnall in the capital, Khartoum, says the reaction on the ground to the judges' ruling will be a key test of the peace between north and south.

'Victory for peace'

Dirdeiry Mohamed Ahmed, the head of the northern government delegation at The Hague, called the decision a victory.

"We welcome the fact that the oilfields are now excluded from the Abyei area, particularly the Heglig oil field," the Associated Press quoted him as saying.

The south's delegate Riak Machar, vice president in southern Sudan's semi-autonomous government, described the decision as "balanced" and said he was committed to respecting it.

"I think this is going to consolidate peace in Sudan. It is a victory for the Sudanese people and a victory for peace," he said.

The issue was referred to The Hague last year after clashes broke out in Abyei town, killing about 100 people and forcing tens of thousands to flee.

UN peacekeepers beefed up their presence in Abyei this week amid fears that a controversial ruling could spark violence.

Douglas Johnson, who was part of the international panel who drew up the 2005 border proposals, said the Hague agreement had respected ethnic boundaries as well as north and south rivalries.

"Each side can say they were right about something, and each side can come away feeling that they have been given something from this arrangement," he told the BBC World Service.

Rights 'guaranteed'

The area is home to Arab cattle herders known as the Misseriya who are loyal to the north, and the Dinka Ngok, part of the largest ethnic group of the south.

Both sides compete for resources like land for grazing and water - rivalries that were exploited during the civil war with both sides being used as proxy armies.

The conflict between the mainly Muslim north and the Christian and animist south claimed 1.5 million lives.

UN special envoy to Sudan Ashraf Qazi said the Abyei border ruling would pave the way for the 2005 peace deal to be implemented as a whole.

"The rights of both communities have been guaranteed as a matter of international law," he said.

"So even if anybody is not 100% satisfied, I do believe this has been a win-win decision for both sides."

As part of the peace agreement the south will hold a referendum in 2011 on whether to become independent from the north.

UPDATE 5:

From Xinhua (KHARTOUM) 22 July 2009 - excerpt:
UN top representative in Sudan welcomes int'l arbitration over Abyei

Speaking in the Abyei town shortly after the PCA announced its decision, Qazi underlined the importance of a clear and final resolution of Abyei's boundaries.

"Both parties have agreed that this question is now settled. I call on all involved to cooperate to implement the decision according to the plan the parties adopted in recent talks and to guarantee the long term interests of the people of the region in accordance with the PCA," he said.

He emphasized that the decision's primary practical impact would be upon the administrative definition of the Abyei Area.

"The Ngok-Dinka and Misseriya will have all the rights guaranteed to them by the PCA and the Interim Constitution, as well as all of Abyei's people," said Qazi.

UPDATE 6:
Email just in from enough project org c. 15:15 GMT UK 22 July 2009:

For Immediate Release July 22, 2009

Contact: Eileen White Read

eread@enoughproject.org

STATEMENTS: International Court Decison on Abyei, Sudan

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague issued a decision today on the boundary of Abyei - an oil-rich and contested region along the disputed internal border between the northern and southern regions of Sudan.

The following statements regarding the decision by the Court’s Abyei Arbitration Tribunal were issued by The Enough Project at the Center for American Progress, the Save Darfur Coalition, and the Genocide Intervention Network:

Enough Project Co-founder John Prendergast noted, “The international community’s track record on Abyei is wildly mixed. After having negotiated the provisions of the peace deal, no one was willing to enforce it when the National Congress Party decided not to accept the previous ruling. It is time to rectify that mistake and create consequences for either party if they undermine implementation."

Jerry Fowler, President of the Save Darfur Coalition, added, “We are encouraged that the U.S. Special Envoy has traveled to Abyei for today’s announcement, but sustained pressure from the United States and others will be critical to ensuring that both sides adhere to their commitments on Abyei and other Comprehensive Peace Agreement benchmarks. As in Darfur, the potential for violence in Abyei remains significant, so we call upon the United Nations Peacekeeping Mission in Sudan, UNMIS, to strengthen its presence in Abyei and take all necessary measures to protect civilians.”

Sam Bell, Executive Director of the Genocide Intervention Network, commented, “With even small provocations on the ground in Abyei, the situation could erode quite quickly. International leadership is essential to making sure that does not happen. All parties must be held accountable for their actions, and for those of their proxies.”

For more information, read Enough’s strategy paper, Abyei: Sudan’s Next Test.

UPDATE 7:

Snapshot of Google's newsreel 16:30 pm GMT UK 22 July 2009

US, EU Urge Sudan Rivals To Implement Oil Region Ruling

Zawya - ‎24 minutes ago‎

The International Court of Arbitration shrank the land mass of the flashpoint Abyei region by 8099 square kilometers by redrawing its northern, ...

EU: Hague court ruling on Sudan's Abyei region 'important step'

Earthtimes (press release) - ‎39 minutes ago‎

Stockholm - A ruling by a court in The Hague adjusting the boundaries of the disputed oil-rich Abyei region in Sudan was "an important step" for the ...

SNAP ANALYSIS-Risks remain after Sudan's Abyei ruling

Reuters - Andrew Heavens, Giles Elgood - ‎58 minutes ago‎

ABYEI, July 22 (Reuters) - The Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague on Wednesday re-drew the boundaries of Sudan's contested Abyei ...

US - European Union Joint Declaration on the Boundaries of the ...

US Department of State - ‎1 hour ago‎

The decision by the Permanent Court of Arbitration regarding the boundaries of the disputed area of Abyei is an important step in the implementation of the ...

Hague court adjusts boundaries of Sudan's Abyei region - Summary

Earthtimes (press release) - ‎1 hour ago‎

The Hague - The boundaries of the Sudan's disputed oil-rich Abyei region between the north and south and is to be adjusted slightly, an ad-hoc tribunal of ...

INSTANT VIEW: Court ruling on Sudan's Abyei region

Reuters - ‎1 hour ago‎

ABYEI, Sudan (Reuters) - An international court redefined borders of Sudan's disputed oil-producing Abyei area on Wednesday. The borders of Abyei are seen ...

Abyei loses an oil field, Sudan gains better prospects for peace?

UN Dispatch - ‎1 hour ago‎

As Mark forecasted, The Hague's Permanent Court of Arbitration handed down a ruling today on Abyei, the contentious border area that could prove the ...

Abyei arbitration - Final award rendered

ReliefWeb (press release) - ‎1 hour ago‎

In the Arbitration Agreement, the Parties agreed to submit, for final and binding decision, their dispute as to whether or not the experts of the Abyei ...

SPLM Official on Tensions in Abyei on Eve of ICJ Ruling

Asharq Alawsat - Mustapha Sirri - ‎1 hour ago‎

[Asharq Al-Awsat] How is the situation in Abyei and what are your expectations from the ruling? [Biong Deng] The general situations are stable but there is ...

Abyei Arbitration court redefines bonders of the disputed area

Sudan Tribune - ‎1 hour ago‎

July 14, 2009 (THE HAGUE) — The Abyei Arbitration Tribunal (AAT) stated today that the experts of AbyeiBoundary Commission (ABC) partially exceeded their ...

Afrik.com

Sudan: Disputed oil-rich Abyei region to be redrawn to appease ...

Afrik.com - Konye Obaji - ‎2 hours ago‎

The United Nations have increased its peacekeeping mission in the disputed oil-rich Abyeiregion of Sudan ahead of a decision by The Hague to redraw the ...

UN News Centre

Top UN envoy welcomes ruling on disputed Sudanese town

UN News Centre - ‎2 hours ago‎

22 July 2009 – The top United Nations envoy to Sudan welcomed today's court ruling on the disputed oil-rich area of Abyei, saying he hopes it will foster ...

Peace partners in Sudan voice commitment to arbitration over Abyei

Xinhua - Li Xianzhi - ‎2 hours ago‎

ABYEI, Sudan, July 22 (Xinhua) -- The two peace partners in Sudan, the ruling National Congress Party (NCP) and the former rebel Sudan People's Liberation ...

Arbitration court rules on Abyei

afrol News - ‎2 hours ago‎

Abyei's inhabitants will be asked in a referendum in 2011 whether they want to be a part of north or south Sudan. Both the Sudanese government and former ...

AFP

Khartoum claims oil fields as court redraws borders

AFP - ‎2 hours ago‎

The International Court of Arbitration shrank the land mass of the flashpoint Abyei region by 8099 square kilometres by redrawing its northern, ...

After more than one year, care continues for displaced in Agok and ...

Medecins Sans Frontieres - ‎3 hours ago‎

MSF has been working in Abyei hospital since 2006. Following violence in May last year an emergency team responded to the needs of the displaced, ...

2009年7月22日星期三18:09 BJT

路透中国 - Aaron Gray-Block, Giles Elgood - ‎5 hours ago‎

THE HAGUE (Reuters) - An international court redefined the eastern and western boundaries of the disputed oil-producing Abyei area ...

Aljazeera.net

Abyei tribes fear losing land

Aljazeera.net - ‎6 hours ago‎

Abyei has long been Sudan's cultural bridge linking the African south of the country to the Arab north. A region located on the boundary between northern ...

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