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The UN Security Council unanimously adopted a resolution on Wednesday [1] demanding that Sudan and South Sudan immediately stop fighting and conclude negotiations within three months on the issues of citizenship, oil revenue sharing, borders, and the status of Abyei.
Tensions between the two countries reached a fever pitch when South
Sudan took over the oil-producing town of Heglig inside the north, with
Sudan retaliating through a series of aerial bombardments. There was a
general fear within the UN that both countries were headed to war again,
and in its resolution the Security Council made clear that the two
countries’ actions constituted a threat to international peace and
security.
Another important part of the resolution was its
endorsement of the African Union Peace and Security Council Communiqué
of April 24 [2]. Thabo Mbeki, the lead negotiator for the AU’s High Level
Implementation Panel, has repeatedly said that both countries have been
unwilling to negotiate in good faith. And here in New York, there’s a
sense among some members of the Security Council that each side’s priority is to harm the other, even at the risk of undermining their own
self interest.
One of RI’s primary preoccupations has been the issue of citizenship and the prevention of statelessness in the Sudans. The parties have negotiated a “four freedoms” agreement that would grant nationals of both countries freedom of movement, residence, employment and property. Before the most recent conflict erupted, the agreement was awaiting both presidents’ signatures, but it was put on the back burner [3] as tensions rose and remains there today. We hope that the deadlines imposed by the UN and AU will ensure this agreement is signed and implemented without delay.