South Sudanese politician Luka Biong Deng has praised the latest resolutions of the African Union in spite of its decision not to refer the question of the disputed Abyei to the UN Security Council.
Dr. Luka Biong, co-chair of the joint oversight committee for Abyei, said that the decision provides an opportunity for resolving the Abyei issue
In an interview with Radio Tamazuj on Monday, he described as ‘an achievement the decision of the African Union Peace and Security Council in its last meeting in Addis Ababa on Friday. Luka noted that the council adhered to the proposal of the African Union mediation team, led by Thabo Mbeki, which calls for the conduct of a referendum to determine the status of the Abyei region.
A statement adopted by the council in its sitting last Friday “reiterates its acceptance of the Proposal for the resolution of the Final Status of Abyei Area, submitted by the AUHIP [Mbeki’s mediation team] on 27 September 2012, as a fair, equitable and workable solution to the dispute between the two countries, which takes into account existing Agreements entered into by the Parties, as well as the needs and interests of the communities on the ground.”
Such an affirmation comes as a blow to northern negotiators, according to Luka. He said the Sudanese submitted six proposals of their own to the African council, one of which was to divide Abyei, with the northern area to be annexed to Sudan and the southern part to South Sudan.
Luka explained that the African council rejected these proposals saying that they are considering only one proposal, the one presented by Mbeki. He affirmed that the referendum will be conducted in the scheduled time.
African diplomats had resolved in October to refer the Mbeki proposal to New York for endorsement by the UN, first giving negotiators a deadline of six weeks to reach their own deal. Luka at the time had called the October council decision “a triumph of justice at last,” citing the expected referral to the UN Security Council for “endorsement and enforcement under Chapter VII of the UN Charter.”
But in their latest sitting the African diplomats decided not to escalate the issue after the two sides fail to convene for talks during the six-week period. Instead, the council deferred the matter to the upcoming AU heads of state meeting, making no new mention of the New York-based council.
This decision was apparently a diplomatic setback for South Sudan, but Luka described it positively, saying that a referral of the final decision to the heads of state was done in order to add weight to the decision from African political leaders.
A presidential summit between Salva Kiir and Omar al-Bashir has been proposed for the sidelines of the African Union summit next January. Abyei would potentially be one main point of such a meeting.
Related coverage:
African Union mum on Abyei referral (15 December)
Full text: AUC decision no Sudan and South Sudan (15 December)
Juba accepts Khartoum’s nominations for Abyei administration (Sudan Tribune, 16 December)
Sudan’s al-Khair optimistic on Abyei deadlock (1 December)