Abyei crisis will not be solved unless…!

Abyei is considered one of the key territorial disputes between Sudan and South Sudan that have been left after the secession of the South in July 2011.

The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) on Friday called on the two countries to step up efforts to end their wrangling over the disputed territory of Abyei which wracked by protests last week, demanding that the two countries "urgently" agree on nominations for a government for the territory and set up a police force. The two parties welcomed moves to ease tensions while hinting at differences over their claim to sovereignty.

Nevertheless, procuring agreements from the two governments, in my opinion, will not solve the Abyei crisis. Only through direct dialogue, without outside influence, between the coexisting tribes (Dinka and Misseriya), Abyei residents can come to an understanding on their future. 

Because the problem, I think, is not in reaching agreements and understandings but rather in the two sides' commitment to what has been agreed upon and in implementing the same on the ground, since the two sides have failed to achieve this objective despite the incessant efforts, being made by the international community, since the vote on the referendum on self-determination of the South.

A closer look at the list of agreements signed would reveal that they mostly deal with the pending issues and, consequently, if these had been implemented we wouldn’t have faced the current crisis and conditions, which wouldn’t have erupted to the level of confrontations whose fallout are still ongoing. 

The problem, then, isn’t in the success of procuring agreements from the two countries. It rather lies in the fact that the agreements reached are not enforced. If this approach of dealing with the issues persists, there will be no hope of ever resolving the crisis because the same scenario will be repeated time and again in the form of optimistic statements, continued talks and inking of agreements without the two sides having the intention to implement them.

Therefore, the solution to Abyei crisis should be reached by the Abyei residents themselves, under the supervision of the local, regional and international communities.