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South Sudan to seek AU, UN’s recognition of 2013 Abyei referendum

Author: Chany Ninrew | Published: January 16, 2025

Governance Cluster meeting. (Photo: Office of FVP/Facebook).

The Governance Cluster has endorsed Abyei Referendum Resolution and recommended engagement with regional and international organizations to recognize the 2013 results in which the region’s dominant Ngok Dinka voted overwhelmingly to join South Sudan.

The cluster made the endorsement in deliberation on two memos submitted by the Minister of Justice and Constitutional Affairs, Hon. Justice Ruben Madol Arol.

A statement from the office of First Vice President Dr. Riek Machar – who chairs the government body – said the meeting recommended that South Sudan engages with multilateral organizations in resolving the region’s final status.

“The Cluster recommends that the Government of South Sudan engage with regional and international stakeholders involved in resolving the final status of the Abyei Area, such as the African Union, the United Nations, and other relevant parties, to recognize the referendum results as a basis for determining the final status of Abyei,” it said.

– Abyei Status –

Abyei is the traditional homeland of the Ngok Dinka, but herders linked to the northern nomadic Arab tribe of Misseriya seasonally cross to Abyei with their cattle in search of water and pasture in the dry season and to trade goods.

In 1972, at the end of Sudan’s first civil war, the Addis Ababa Agreement promised residents of Abyei the right to hold a referendum to determine whether they would remain a part of northern Sudan or join the newly formed southern region.

However, in 1983, Sudan descended into another civil war after President Jaafar Nimeiri refused to implement the agreement and allow Abyei to hold its referendum.

The war ended after signing the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) in 2005, which included the Abyei Protocol stipulating that the region would remain under special administrative status.

The region was said to hold a status referendum to allow its residents to determine whether Abyei would become part of Sudan or South Sudan.

In October 2013, the Ngok Dinka held the referendum in which they overwhelmingly voted for Abyei to be part of South Sudan, but the result was not recognized by either Sudan or South Sudan.

On January 3, First Vice President Machar received the official report of the 2013 Abyei community referendum on the disputed region’s final status.

In November 2024, the administrative government of the region called on the South Sudan government to endorse the outcome of the October 2013 referendum. But the 8th Governors Forum declined to publicly read out recommendations on the disputed region’s final status, including the call to recognize the referendum results.

On December 23, 2024, the Executive Council of the Abyei Administrative Area then went ahead and unanimously endorsed the results of the 2013 referendum officially presented by the high commission of the Abyei Community.

Besides adoption of the Abyei referendum results, the body endorsed operationalization of the Commission for Truth, Reconciliation, and Healing Act, 2024, and the Compensation and Reparation Authority Act, 2024.

The acts are designed to address the legacy of past conflicts and promote peace, national reconciliation, and identify aggrieved persons eligible for reparations and after establishing the necessary funding mechanisms.

The 2018 peace agreement mandates the African Union Commission and the government to set up Hybrid Court to investigate and prosecute individuals suspected of committing crimes since the conflict began in December 2013.

However, since the formation of the unity government, little has been mentioned in regards to Chapter 5 of the peace pact that stipulates the establishment of the tribunal. At present, there is no other justice avenue available for South Sudanese victims of the conflict, apart from the pending Hybrid Court.

The Governance Cluster will submit both memos to the Council of Ministers for their consideration.

 

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