EU and US welcome Abyei ruling

The European Union and the United States has welcomed the redefined boundaries of oil-rich Abyei area in Sudan.

In a joint statement, the US and the Council of European Union further said the decision by the Permanent Court of Arbitration was an important step towards the implementation of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA).

Both South Sudan and Khartoum governments have pledged to respect the ruling and a work plan for the demarcation of the boundary slated for September under the supervision of international experts.

“Both parties must use their authority and influence to ensure that the Court’s decision is respected and peacefully implemented,” reads part of the statement.

The US and EU also called on both governments to work together and inform the populace of the Court’s decision and asked the parties to respect the lives of the communities and persons concerned.

The joint communiqué also warned the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA) to avoid confrontation adding that they would get full cooperation from both parties.

They also called on both governments to cooperate with the United Nations Mission in Sudan (UNMIS).

Both US and EU also reiterated their support for the Assessment and Evaluation Commission (AEC) in monitoring the CPA.

The borders of Abyei was coveted by both sides and often led to conflicts between North and South. The boundary were outlined by an international panel after a 2005 peace agreement that ended more than 20 years of civil war between north and south Sudan.

But after Sudan’s government challenged the boundaries, a deal was reached with the former southern rebels, the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM), to refer the issue to the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague.

Soon after the ruling, both governments described it as successful saying no one was a winner or a loser.

The South Sudan Minister of Legal Affairs and Constitutional Development, Michael Makuei, said the partners of the Government of National Unity (GoNU) had agreed to form a committee to solve outstanding differences over the south Sudan Referendum Bill.

The Vice President of the Government of Southern Sudan Dr Riek Machar has said that the next challenge, after the Permanent Court of Arbitration award, was to strengthen the administration of Abyei.

Addressing hundreds of people at Juba airport upon his return from The Hague, Machar said that pending issues on Heglig and Mairam oil fields “can be resolved peacefully”.

Machar stressed that more efforts must be made to bring back all Abyei's internally displaced who have been out of the area for over forty years.