The arbitration agreement between the Government of Sudan and the southern Sudan People’s Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A) was received by the Permanent Court of Arbitration on July 11, 2008 with both parties agreeing to a “final and binding” decision by the tribunal.

On July 14, 2004, the Abyei Boundaries Commission published its report that outlined Abyei’s boundaries to an area that was much larger than Sudan’s ruling National Congress Party previously claimed. They subsequently rejected the commission’s report, stating that the Commission exceeded its mandate. The case was then referred to the Tribunal.

Arbitration Award Map (source: Permanent Court of Arbitration, July 22, 2009)

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The Tribunal’s mandate was to determine whether the Abyei Boundaries Commission exceeded its mandate “to define and demarcate the area of the nine Ngok Dinka cheifdoms transferred to Kordofan in 1905.” The Tribunal determined the excess of mandate by reviewing the Abyei Boundaries Commission (ABC)’s interpretation and implementation of their mandate. The Tribunal’s press release reads, “The Tribunal therefore finds that the ABC Experts DID NOT EXCEED their mandate in interpreting their mandate…”

The Tribunal concludes however “that the ABC Experts EXCEEDED their mandate in certain areas of its implementation.” The ABC’s mandate was exceeded for the drawing of the northernmost border of the “Ngok Dinka and Misseriya’s ’shared rights’ area at latitude 10°35′N [...] because they did not provide sufficient reasoning.” The Tribunal found that “there was NOT an excess of mandate” regarding the ABC’s drawing of the northern limit of Ngok Dinka’s area of permanent habitation transferred in 1905. However, the eastern and western boundaries chosen by the ABC was determined to be “in excess of mandate for failure to state sufficient reasoning.”

Abyei's former market area (April 2009)

Abyei Arbitration Tribunal of the Permanent Court of Arbitration thus delimited a new boundary (see above map) that is somewhat smaller than the one represented in mauve by the Abyei Boundaries Commission.

According to a report by Miraya FM, the head of Sudan’s ruling National Congress Party, Al Dirdiri Mohamed Ahmed, stated that “the [Tribunal's] decision supports NCP’s vision regarding the [border's] demarcation.” Minister of Foreign Affairs and member of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement, Deng Alor, “welcomed the Court’s decision and assured the movement’s commitment of the ruling.” Mohamed Ali Alansari, a leader from the Misseriya tribe stated that they are “studying the judgement to determine a final position.”

Central Abyei street scene (April 2009)

Abyei is an important oil-producing region of Sudan, which in 2003 provided approximately 25% of Sudan’s total oil production. Defined within the Abyei Protocol (Chapter IV of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement), Abyei is “the area of the nine Ngok Dinka chiefdoms transferred to Kordofan in 1905.” Residents of Abyei are define as “Members of the Ngok Dinka community and other Sudanese residing in the area.” The Arab Misseriya pastoralists are not specifically mentioned as residents of the area and their grazing rights in this pasture-rich region—as prescribed in the Abyei Protocol—are a source of conflict.

Central Abyei street scene (April 2009)

The Protocol outlines the sharing of oil revenues between the northern Government of National Unity and the Government of Southern Sudan. The CPA provides for a self-determination referendum for Southern Sudan in 2011, as well as a separate ballot referendum within Abyei “to retain its special administrative status in the north” or “to be part of Bahr el Ghazal” located in the south. Abyei’s decision will be irrespective of the South’s decision in the 2011 self-determination referendum.

Central Abyei street scene (April 2009)

On May 14, 2008, a battle erupted between the Sudan Armed Forces and the Sudan People’s Liberation Army, forcing tens of thousands of residents to flee south to the Agok area where most of the displaced people remain in precarious conditions. Much of the town Abyei was destroyed by the conflict. One year later, as these recent photos portray, the town has yet to recover. As a result of the bloody fighting that left up to, the two parties decided to resolve the issue with the Permanent Court of Arbitration.

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Further reading:

- Abyei: Emir of the mujahidin in the Misseriya tribe rejects PCA’s ruling (25 July, 2009)

- Declaration on Abyei ruling by South Sudan’s President Salva Kiir Mayardit (23 July, 2009)

- INSTANT VIEW: Court ruling on Sudan’s Abyei region (22 July, 2009)

- Sudan: Backslaps and caveats over Abyei (22 July 2009)

- Sudan: Abyei Briefing (21 July 2009)

- Sudan: Breaking the Abyei Deadlock (12 October 2007)

- Sudan: Abyei Boundary Commission report (16 August 2005)

I haven’t had the opportunity to post in the last two weeks as I continued to visit sites, interview people and learn more about the complexities of Southern Sudan.

Once I return to Montréal in early May, I will begin to review my pages of notes and hundreds of photos taken during the sevens weeks in Southern Sudan. I will view the hours of video footage and listen to the dozens of audio interviews recorded during the visit. The books, newspapers, reports and other written documentation collected during the visit will be read and analysed upon return.

Here are a selection of photographs taken during the visit that portray remnants of Sudan’s civil war that ended in January 2005 with the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement. Most photos were taken in Abyei Transitional Area and reflect the city of Abyei since the May 2008 Crisis that erupted in fighting between the Sudan Armed Forces and the Sudan People’s Liberation Army, leaving the town much destroyed.

IMAGES FROM WAU:

IMAGES FROM ABYEI:

Below, I’ll continually add maps I find that will give me that I-know-this-place feeling once I get myself to Sudan and help me better understand the situation there: its history, the migration of refugees & internally displaced persons (IDPs), its physical landscape and topography, its transport network, its development strategies, etc.

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MAP RESOURCES

Map Catalogue of the UNITED NATIONS SUDAN INFORMATION GATEWAY.

City Maps from the Ministry of Land, Housing and Public Utilities, Government of Southern Sudan

International Travel and Health maps from the World Health Organization

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SELECTED MAPS (Place mouse over maps to get their titles. click to download or view better quality image.)

GENERAL:

(source: Map No. 3707 Rev. 10, UNITED NATIONS, Department of Peacekeeping Operations Cartographic Section, April 2007)

January 1, 1956 Line of Demarcation Map

(source: Map No. 3707 Rev. 10, UNITED NATIONS, Department of Peacekeeping Operations Cartographic Section, April 2007; demarcation line source is US Department of State)

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DARFUR MAPS:

Darfur Confirmed Damaged and Destroyed Villages, Feb 2003 – December 2009

(Source: US Department of State, Humanitarian Information Unit, April 5, 2010)

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INTERNATIONAL AID MAPS:

Draft Map: UN Agency Presence in Sudan

(source: United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UCHA) November 3, 2008)

Sudan Humanitarian Planning Map

(source: NASA MODIS mosaic, UN Cartographic Section; UN OCHA; UNHCR; DCW OLS; UNDP GRID and Climate Research Unit of the University of East Anglia; 11 February 2004)

Southern Sudan Road Progress – October 2008

(source: UN Joint Logistics Centre, Sudan; Map #: UNJLC_SDN_704_A3; October 20, 2008)

Non-Food Items Sector Partners and Common Pipleline Pilot Project, South Sudan

(source: UN Joint Logistics Centre, Juba; Map number: unjlc_sdn_711_A3_07112; 24 November 2008)

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MIGRATION MAPS:

Spontaneous Returns from Place of Displacement and Final Destination of Returnees (tracked on-route)

(source: International Organization for Migration IOM, 2008)

IOM Internally Displaced Persons Return Routes – by road, river and air 2007-2008

(source: International Organization for Migration, 28 January 2008)

IDP Registration, Returns and Refugee Repatriation supported by IOMIDP Registration, Returns and Refugee Repatriation supported by IOM

(source: IOM GIS Unit, Data Source: IOM IDP Registration Databases, Movement statistics & IOM supported repatriation statistics; 18/09/2007)

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(source: European Coalition on Oil in Sudan, 2007)

OIL WELLS IN RELATION TO THE BOUNDARIES OF ABYEI ACCORDING TO THE ABYEI ROADMAP

(courtesy Global Witness 2009)

OIL WELLS IN RELATION TO THE BOUNDARIES OF ABYEI ACCORDING TO THE ABYEI BOUNDARIES COMMISSION

(courtesy Global Witness 2009)

OIL WELLS IN RELATION TO THE TRIBUNAL OF THE PERMANENT COURT OF ARBITRATION

(courtesy Global Witness 2009)

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Vegetation Cover in Sudan

(courtesy Food and Agriculture Organization FAO)

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WILDLIFE MAPS:

(courtesy: Wildlife Conservation Society)

European Coalition on Oil in Sudan & National Parks / Refuge Overlay

Sudan Oil & Wildlife Overlay (source: Wildlife Conservation Society and European Coalition on Oil in Sudan, 2007)

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POLITICAL BOUNDARY MAPS:

Comparative Map of the Abyei Area

Arbitration Award Map (source: Permanent Court of Arbitration, July 22, 2009)

Jonglei Tribal Groups

Southern Sudan State boundary Map

(prepared by: Information Management Department, UNMAO)

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INTERNATIONAL TRAVEL AND HEALTH MAPS:

Malaria 2007

(source: World Health Organization, 2008)

Yellow Fever 2007

(source: World Health Organization, 2008)