 |
Sudan - Abyei
Khartoum, South Sudan agree to accept Abyei arbitration
Article published on the 2009-06-24 Latest update 2009-06-24 15:04 TU
Scott Gration, Barack Obama's special envoy to Sudan, speaking in Khartoum last April.
(Photo: AFP)
Sudan and members of the autonomous Southern Sudan government are willing to accept a ruling on the disputed oil-wealthy Abyei state when a Hague tribunal makes its decision next month, said US officials who met with both sides Wednesday. The crisis surrounding the disputed Abyei region, an area which both sides partially claim, had threatened to derail the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA).
Both the Sudanese government and the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) "accept the Abyei arbitration as final and binding," Scott Gration, the US special envoy to Sudan announced Wednesday night after the meeting in Washington DC.
SPLM leaders contacted by RFI were unavailable for comment.
The Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague will rule on the Abyei border demarcation between 18 July and 22 July.
The US and more than 20 other countries and organisations were present in Washington to reach a firm agreement with both sides. "The US cannot do it alone. All of this will depend once again on your efforts," said Gration. Also present was Kenyan General Lazaro Sumbeiywo, who was a key player in creating the CPA.
The implementation of the four-year-old CPA had been at an impasse as tensions escalated and fighting broke out in May between the SPLM and government troops.
Gration said that both sides would have representatives on the ground after the Abyei ruling in order to quell any sort of problems that could arise.
Other issues that need to be ironed out are wealth-sharing and power-sharing agreements.
According to the original deal, elections are scheduled to take place in February 2010, with a referendum to be held in 2011 on the status of southern Sudan.
The CPA ended Africa's longest war, which claimed the lives of 1.5 million people and displaced millions.
