S/PV.7483 Security Council

In accordance with rule 37 of the Council’s provisional rules of procedure, I invite the representatives of South Sudan and the Sudan to participate in this meeting. The Security Council will now begin its consideration of the item on its agenda. Members of the Council have before them document S/2015/531, which contains the text of a draft resolution submitted by France, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United States of America. I wish to draw the attention of Council members to document S/2015/439, which contains the report of the Secretary-General on the situation in Abyei. It is my understanding that the Council is ready to proceed to the vote on the draft resolution before it. I shall put the draft resolution to the vote now.

There were 15 votes in favour. The draft resolution has been adopted unanimously as resolution 2230 (2015). I now give the floor to the representative of South Sudan.

As this is the first time that I speak before the Security Council under your presidency, Sir, I would like to congratulate you on your leadership of the Council this month and to pledge to you our full cooperation. I would also like to acknowledge the role of your predecessor in leading the Council last month. I have addressed the Council on this issue on so many occasions that there is not much more to be said, other than to reiterate some important points. I would like to welcome the renewal of the mandate of the United Nations Interim Security Force for Abyei (UNISFA) and its extension to 15 December 2015. As I have said on numerous occasions, UNISFA is the best thing that has happened to Abyei Area for decades. Without international protection and assistance, the Ngok Dinka have always been victims of unrestrained attacks from their northern neighbours, supported by successive Governments of the Sudan. Despite blatant atrocities, no one has ever been held accountable. Although UNISFA by no means provides full protection, at least the threat of uncontrolled and unaccountable attacks from the north has been reduced. I know that, whenever attacks take place and the Ngok Dinka fall victim — such as the well-known case of the assassination of the Paramount Chief under the protective escort of UNISFA  — the Ngok Dinka understandably see more of the negative than the big picture of protection. It should be remembered that, before UNISFA was deployed, Abyei was massively invaded in 2008, and then again in 2011, by the forces of the Sudan Government, which forced the civilian population to flee. That had the effect of depopulating the Area. Most of the civilian population has not yet been able to return, out of fear of further attacks from the north. Despite the shortcomings of the protection role of UNISFA, it is the only source of protection for the Ngok Dinka. In view of the fact that the impasse on the final status of Abyei between the Sudan and South Sudan has now reached a deadlock, and considering that the present arrangement under UNISFA cannot continue indefinitely, the Security Council is called upon to find a workable solution that will be acceptable to both sides in the conflict. I believe that some refinement of the present arrangements under UNISFA would turn the Area into an international protectorate so as to ensure security, provide services and generate socioeconomic development is the most practical way forward. The issue of a final status for Abyei can then be negotiated within a reasonable time frame and in an atmosphere of relative cooperation between the two Governments, reinforced by the constructive engagement of the international community. In reading the report of the Secretary-General (S/2015/439), I believe that considerable progress has been made in providing protection and assistance. But the challenge of security, stability and development for the Area remains formidable. In that context, I would like to reiterate what I have said on a number of occasions, that is, that the nine chiefdoms of Abyei have always been administered autonomously. Just as the Misseriya are self-administering within their area of normal residence, the Ngok Dinka now need to have all the organs of Government — legislative, executive and judiciary  — under their autonomous control. An institution of cooperation between the Ngok Dinka and the Misseriya, whether through a committee or a council or through the Abyei Joint Oversight Committee, could then manage bilateral relations and resolve conflicts between them. Any idea about a joint administration whereby the Misseriya, while fully self-governing, participate in the administration of Ngok Dinka areas would be unacceptable by normative standards and would be rejected by the Ngok Dinka and the Government of South Sudan. In addition to the security imperatives of the Area, the people of Abyei are in desperate need of services, infrastructure and socioeconomic development. That can be achieved in partnership with United Nations agencies, intergovernmental organizations, non-governmental organizations and local community- based structures, along the continuum from humanitarian assistance to relief, recovery and development. Without those essentials, it is unlikely that the people of Abyei will return to their normal areas of residence and will remain refugees and internally displaced persons indefinitely. The Ngok Dinka of Abyei are currently virtually stateless, and therefore their displacement remains a source of instability for the region. In developing a solution for the Area, I would hope that the Security Council, in collaboration with the African Union, will find these suggestions useful in formulating a programme of interim stabilization for the Abyei situation. Finally, the Ngok Dinka and the Misseriya have lived as friendly and cooperative neighbours under their respective leaderships for centuries. What is needed now is to restore those erstwhile cordial ties between the two communities and to turn the adversarial posture of national authorities into promoting cooperation between the two communities.

I now give the floor to the representative of the Sudan.

Allow me to begin by congratulating you, Sir, on your assumption of the presidency of the Security Council for this month, during which the Council is considering the periodic report (S/2015/439) of the Secretary-General on the situation in Abyei, submitted following the strategic review of the mandate of the United Nations Interim Security Force for Abyei (UNISFA). Also this month, deliberations were held regarding resolution 2230 (2015), which was just adopted, on the renewal of the UNISFA mandate. I should like to take this opportunity to express our appreciation to our brotherly neighbour Ethiopia for its valuable efforts for the sake of strengthening peace and stability in the Sudan, especially in Abyei through the role played by UNISFA. In several of its paragraphs, today’s resolution clearly underscores the importance of commitment to the full implementation of the agreements signed by the Sudan and South Sudan with regard to resolving the final status of Abyei. Furthermore, the resolution emphasizes that dialogue and negotiation between the two sides are the only way to determine that status. We therefore welcome the references made in the resolution in that regard. We would like to emphasize the importance of commitment to the implementation of those agreements, in particular the 20 June 2011 Agreement on Temporary Arrangements for the Administration and Security of the Abyei Area, the 29 June 2011 Agreement on Border Security and the Joint Political and Security Mechanism, the 30 July 2011 Agreement on the Border Monitoring Support Mission and the 27 September 2012 Agreement on Security Arrangements. It goes without saying that all those agreements are complementary, as they address the border area, and must therefore be implemented equally as a whole because they affect each other. Furthermore in that regard, we underscore that the Security Council has referred to those agreements in connection with the implementation matrix agreed upon and signed on 12 March 2013, which is now a document of the Council that must also be followed to the letter. While we reiterate our commitment to the implementation of those agreements, we also emphasize that the shortest path to resolving the final status of Abyei in line with the agreements begins with establishing the temporary administration and security mechanisms, namely, the Abyei legislative council, the Abyei administration and the Abyei police. Establishing those agreed upon mechanisms would serve to fill any administrative or security vacuums and help to pave the way towards stability and peaceful coexistence among local communities, including the Misseriya and the Ngok Dinka. That should be followed by efforts to resolve the final status of the region in order to ensure security, stability and lasting coexistence among the local populations, in particular the two main tribes. The resolution just adopted clearly states that there is no alternative to dialogue to resolve the final status of Abyei, and it also warns against any unilateral measures by any side in that regard. We also welcome the fact that resolution 2230 (2015) reiterates the Security Council’s rejection of any such measures, as well as its clear reference to the fact that the African Union Peace and Security Council and the Security Council have in previous resolutions both expressed profound concern about the unilateral measure by the Ngok Dinka to hold a referendum. In that context, we also remind the Council of the Sudan’s decision to withdraw its armed forces from the Abyei Area, pursuant to the agreements I mentioned. The Sudanese armed forces did not invade Abyei, they were already present there. They withdrew pursuant to resolution 2046 (2012) and the road map drafted and adopted by the African Union. We have previously expressed our position on this point here in the Council, which reflects our full commitment to implementing the agreements signed with South Sudan, in particular those pertaining to the Abyei Area and border security arrangements, and especially on the establishment of the Safe Demilitarized Border Zone and the operationalization of the Joint Border Verification and Monitoring Mechanism. Reports of the Secretary- General on Abyei clearly indicate that the Government of the Sudan has lived up to its commitments in terms of establishing those mechanisms and their operationalization. In conclusion, the Government of the Sudan has clearly demonstrated the extent of its commitment to implementing all of those agreements. The Sudan has always sent representatives to participate in those agreed upon security and administrative mechanisms. While representatives of the Sudanese Government have always participated in the mechanisms, the other party has been absent. The Council is aware of that fact, which is also documented in the report of the Secretary- General before the Council today. That is why we would like to reiterate the need to operationalize the joint monitoring commission for Abyei. It is very important that it begin its work in order to fill the current vacuum. The Sudanese Government has effectively participated in that mechanism. I think the Council is aware of the fact that the work of the commission has been postponed simply because one of the parties has not sent its representatives for so long. We would like to reiterate our concerns about the delays in setting up the mechanism. We look forward to its establishment sooner rather than later so that it can play its role in filling any possible administrative or security vacuums in Abyei. That would help to establish an appropriate political environment to make it impossible for the two main tribes to coexist peacefully and, on that basis, resolve the issue of the final status of Abyei and its future pursuant to the relevant agreements signed by the parties. We have consistently renewed our commitment to implementing these agreements so as to achieve a resolution to the final status of Abyei in a way that guarantees lasting peace, security and stability.