Attachments
I. Introduction
1. The present report is submitted pursuant to paragraph 5 of Security Council resolution 2660 (2022), in which the Council requested to be informed of progress in implementing the mandate of the United Nations Interim Security Force for Abyei (UNISFA). It covers the period since the issuance of the previous report (S/2022/760), from 4 October 2022 to 18 April 2023. The report provides updates, inter alia, on political, security and rule-of-law developments, the potential impact of the outbreak of fighting in the Sudan, and the transition of UNISFA to a United Nations multinational peacekeeping force.
II. Abyei
Political developments
2. The reporting period was marked by high-level engagement between the Sudan and South Sudan aimed at enhancing cooperation on Abyei and border issues, and paving the way for discussion on its final status. While relations between the parties remain good and their engagement has created positive momentum with regard to discussions on Abyei issues, tangible progress on the ground remains elusive, and the Abyei Joint Oversight Committee did not reconvene during the period. In Khartoum on 24 October 2022, the chairpersons of the national committees established by both South Sudan and the Sudan – Tut Gatluak Manime, Presidential Adviser on National Security Affairs of South Sudan, and Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo, Deputy Chairperson of the Sovereign Council of the Sudan and Head of the Rapid Support Forces – met to discuss the final status of Abyei, which resulted in an agreement to enhance cooperation and address outstanding issues. The parties resolved to jointly expedite the provision of services to the communities in Abyei and to reactivate joint mechanisms to provide humanitarian assistance and create an environment conducive to peace in the area. They also discussed the issue of payments by the Sudan to South Sudan of arrears related to revenues generated by the oilfields in Abyei. While the impact of the outbreak of violence in the Sudan on 15 April 2023 remains unclear, it is highly likely to delay further steps towards dialogue on Abyei.
3. On 12 January 2023, at a bilateral meeting in Juba, both the President of South Sudan and the Chairperson of the Sovereign Council and Commander of the Armed Forces of the Sudan discussed the situation in Abyei and potential measures to enhance border cooperation, including the formation of a joint security force along the common border. They also called for the existing mechanisms related to Abyei to reconvene.
4. In Juba on 18 January, the representatives of UNISFA and the Joint Border Verification and Monitoring Mechanism attended a meeting of the Joint Political and Security Mechanism, where the parties reiterated their agreement to resume regular Abyei Joint Oversight Committee meetings. In addition, they again referred certain matters, such as Diffra oil protection and the operationalization of the Athony airstrip, to their respective presidencies.
5. Following months of heightened tensions between Ngok Dinka and Twic Dinka in the southern part of the Abyei Area and the northern part of Warrap State of South Sudan, the President of South Sudan issued a decree on 9 January, by which the Jubaappointed Chief Administrator Koul Diem Koul was removed and replaced with Chol Deng Alak, who had served in that capacity between 2015 and 2017. Prior to the issuance of the decree, an ad hoc committee of the transitional Council of States of South Sudan had visited Abyei, on 6 October 2022. The committee, which was tasked with analysing the causes of tension between Ngok Dinka and Twic Dinka, met with UNISFA, the Juba-appointed local administration and other key interlocutors. The mission also hosted the visit of the Archbishop of Yei, Elias Taban Parangi, from 15 to 17 November as part of efforts to defuse the tensions.
6. As tensions between Ngok Dinka and Twic Dinka continued, the President of South Sudan convened on 20 March the Governors of Warrap and Lakes States, the Juba-appointed Chief Administrator of Abyei and traditional Ngok Dinka and Twic Dinka leaders to discuss their disputes. The latter pledged to cease hostilities and agreed to the deployment of security forces in the disputed areas to create a buffer zone.
7. The high-level committee of the Sudan and South Sudan on Abyei, chaired by the Deputy Chairperson of the Sovereign Council of the Sudan and Head of the Rapid Support Forces and the Presidential Adviser on National Security Affairs of South Sudan, met for a second round of talks in Khartoum on 9 and 10 April to discuss the overall situation in Abyei and to advance discussions on the final status of Abyei, in the presence of the Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for the Horn of Africa, UNISFA, the African Union and the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD). UNISFA gave a presentation on the security situation in Abyei. The parties reiterated their commitment to constructive engagement and agreed that the issue of the final status of Abyei would be discussed in the upcoming rounds of talks.