The Darfur Consortium

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Darfur in the News

U.S. and European media


July 23, 2023

Reuters: Hague border ruling raises peace hopes in Sudan. A court on Wednesday redrew the boundaries of Sudan's disputed oil-producing Abyei region, ceding key oilfields to north Sudan in a decision hailed as a resolution to a long-standing territorial conflict. Leaders from north and south Sudan pledged to respect the ruling from the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague as more than 1,000 people danced through the streets of Abyei to celebrate the decision. But some analysts said there was still a risk of a return to conflict over the central district, as the implications of the complex Hague ruling sank in among northern and southern supporters and communities who live in the area. "I think one of the problems, especially with the government in Khartoum, has been a history of making commitments and then not fulfilling them and not being held to account. And Abyei is an important test in that regard," said Jerry Fowler, president of the Save Darfur Coalition.

The New York Times: Court Redraws Disputed Area in Sudan. An international tribunal redefined the borders of a disputed oil-rich region between north and south Sudan on Wednesday. The ruling seeks to defuse a thorny issue in the 2005 peace agreement ending one of Africa's longest civil wars by splitting the contested zone between the two sides. In its ruling, the tribunal, seated at the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague, overruled a decision by an international commission that Sudan's government rejected four years ago. The new ruling includes important concessions for both sides, giving the government in the north control of the region's richest oil fields, but consolidating control of the remaining region under the Ngok Dinka, an ethnic group loyal to southern Sudan and likely to vote to join it in a coming referendum.

VOA: Marchers Challenge Abyei Verdict, US Darfur Policy. Protesters at an anti-genocide rally near the White House on Wednesday voiced surprise about an international Permanent Court of Arbitration decision on Sudan's oil-rich Abyei region. The Hague's remedy, adjusting Abyei's borders to favor oil rights for Sudan's northern-based national government, raised concerns as a coalition of Sudanese and American demonstrators marched from Lafayette Park to the State Department. The rally was organized to spur stronger action by the Obama administration on Darfur. Marchers handed US officials letters urging enforcement of the International Criminal Court (ICC) indictment against Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir and support for the return of non-governmental humanitarian workers (NGO's) expelled from Darfur by Mr. Bashir last March.

VOA: South Sudan Official Calls for International Help to Implement Court's Ruling on Abyei. A senior member of the former Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) says semi-autonomous south Sudan will accept Wednesday's Court of Arbitration decision on the borders of the disputed oil-rich Abyei region. The ruling reduced the size of Abyei and gave most of the oil areas to Sudan's northern-based national government. Pagan Amum, secretary general of the former SPLM and now minister for cabinet affairs in Sudan's government of national unity, hoped both parties will now move beyond the ruling and bring about the full implementation of the entire Abyei Protocol. "We now call on the United States of America and the international community to ensure that this decision is immediately implemented and to ensure that there is peace in the area and paves the way for the full implementation of the Abyei Protocol and the CPA," he said.


The Darfur Daily News is a service of the Save Darfur Coalition. To subscribe to the Daily News, please email [email protected]. For media inquiries, please contact Ashley Roberts at (202) 478-6181, or [email protected].

 

 

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