« Back to Provision

Boundary Demarcation – 2005

According to the Abyei Protocol, which was part of the 2005 CPA, the Abyei Boundaries Commission (ABC) was to be composed of five members from the government, five from the SPLM/A, and five ‘international expertsÕ from the US, UK and the IGAD. The government was required to nominate two from the Messiriya and the SPLM/A from the neighbouring Dinka tribe in the Abyei area. The experts in the commission were to consult the British and other relevant archives. The ABC was instructed to determine the boundary to be included in the special administration. The commission was expected to deliver its final report by the end of pre-interim period or 9 July 2005.

According to the CPA mandate, the ABC started its work in April of 2005. The experts presented the rules of procedure for the ABC to the parties on 11 April 2005, which parties accepted. In rules of procedure, it was said that the “commission will endeavor to reach a decision by consensus. If, however, an agreed position by the two sides is not achieved, the experts will have the final say.”¹ The government of Sudan and the SPLM/A members of the ABC submitted to the experts the two partiesÕ preliminary presentations. Then, the ABC flew to the town of Abyei. The ABC heard testimony from locals for six days. After the visit, the ABC flew to Nairobi, where they reviewed their notes and the testimony heard in southern Sudan and consulted with IGAD. The experts returned to Khartoum on 27 April and for the next two weeks examined historical documents and surveys. They also listened to the testimony of a group of Ngok Dinka and a group of Twich Dinka in Khartoum.² According to the report, the experts also went to Oxford University where they examined documents and maps. Then, they travelled to the University of Durham. In England, the experts consulted experts and anthropologists. The government and the SPLM/A positions differed. The ABC submitted its report to the Presidency on 14 July 2005, five days past of the 9 July deadline. The presidency, however, failed to agree on the adoption of the report.³

1. “Abyei Boundaries Commission Report- Part I, ” July 14, 2005, accessed January 18, 2012, http://gosscanada.org/pdf/abey_boundary_com_report-1.pdf.
2. Ibid.
3. “The CPA Monitor-Monthly report on the Implementation of the CPA,” UNMIS, February 2006.