Washington, DC- This week's decision in The Hague on the Abyei boundary line between north and south Sudan is a test for peace in the region, Refugees International said today. In addition, the organization urged the U.S. to continue its focus on the growing tensions in south Sudan in order to promote stability and to avert a new civil war between north and south Sudan or a collapse of the south from internal conflicts.
"The response to the tribunal's decision will be a test of both sides' commitment to maintaining peace in Sudan," said Melanie Teff, Refugees International advocate. "We ask that the U.S. continue its efforts to consolidate peace in south Sudan and urge both parties to respect the tribunal's decision and implement it."
While the Government of Sudan and the Government of Southern Sudan have stated that they will abide by the decision of the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague, the town of Abyei has already been a flashpoint. Refugees International visited Abyei in February and witnessed the destruction that had been wrought when fighting between northern and southern Sudanese forces displaced over 50,000 people in May 2008. People who had fled from Abyei were scared to return. RI also met with the few people who had decided to return to Abyei. They expressed fears about the potential for renewed conflict if the parties did not accept the tribunal's decision.
"This is a fragile moment for peace and political progress between north and south Sudan," added Teff. "Recent media reports of southern Sudanese troop movements in the Abyei region underscore the tension and risk for more violence. The U.S. must do all that it can to support the Comprehensive Peace Agreement and develop a broader regional strategy for peace in all of Sudan."
The Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) was signed in 2005 between the Government of Sudan and the Government of Southern Sudan, bringing home millions of southern Sudanese who fled during 21 years of war. Refugees International has called on the international community and the Government of Southern Sudan to prioritize the reintegration of returning southern Sudanese. The scale of need in south Sudan is immense, and communities are vulnerable to a new humanitarian crisis and outbreaks of conflict if gaps in basic services and professional policing go unaddressed.
Refugees International is a Washington, D.C.-based organization that advocates to end refugee crises. In February 2009 the organization traveled to southern Sudan to assess the humanitarian situation inside the country. Watch our new video, "South Sudan: An Enduring Struggle" at http://www.refugeesinternational.org/sudan-action.
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Contact: Vanessa Parra, 202-828-0110 ext. 225;
vanessa@refugeesinternational.org
[ Any views expressed in this article are those of the writer and not of Reuters. ]
Grafitti on a rusted iron sheet of a wrecked building depicts fighting in Abyei town in central Sudan July 7, 2009. Abyei lies at the heart of an oil-producing, pastoral district ...
