Khartoum-Juba talks: where to?

Photo credit: Middle-east-online

The two delegations of Sudan and South Sudan are due to return to the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, in the next few days to resume negotiations. African mediators are expected to visit Khartoum and Juba this week, ahead of the next negotiation round, to contribute to calming the situation which has gone out-of-control and defuse the crisis before it escalates.  According to Al Sahafa Arabic daily, a reliable source said yesterday that a team of African mediators will hold meetings with officials from both sides on resuming talks between the two countries on the one hand and between Sudan and the Sudan People's Liberation Movement- North sector, on the other.

This comes after an alleged round of fighting and mobilization, along the volatile border between the two countries, as the two sides traded their usual accusations. The same source added that the African Union expressed concerns on the escalating media war between the two countries, pointing out that mediators have concluded drafting their proposals for resolving disputed issues.

Given the charges of military encroachment exchanged between the two countries, questions and doubts surround the fate of the coming round and whether it will be held on schedule or postponed until a more favorable climate takes hold.  Given the dreadful deterioration in their relations, it would seem like a futile exercise for the countries to resume their talks at this time when it is feared that tensions threaten to erupt into direct war. On the other hand, the very serious nature of the threat should prompt immediate action to pacify the situation.

Should they prove true, these alleged accusations will constitute the second infringement of the non-aggression treaty signed between the two sides, despite the fact that the pact was the only achievement of the talks between the two since the 9th of July date of independence of South South. 

These repeated violations of the signed agreements reveal the frailty of political will. This may also divest future talks of any real significance. Any future agreement reached between the two sides will therefore remain questionable; unless the African Union works out an appropriate mechanism for forcing the parties to honor their agreement pledges. The African Union and its partners should start by reinstating the non-aggression treaty as the agreed upon vehicle for dealing with infringements and violations. The treaty should be vigorously activated, in respect to the accusations traded between the two countries, before embarking on a new round of talks.

First and foremost, the war of words must stop to bring about a favorable atmosphere and a measure of goodwill needed to keep the talks from turning into a contest of accusation and counter-accusation.