Justice in Sudan: will the award of the international Abyei Arbitration Tribunal be honoured?

Abstract

The Sudan Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) that was concluded in January 2005 ended more than 20 years of civil war between the Government of Sudan (GoS) and the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM). The CPA provides a framework for building peace and reforming Sudan within generally accepted principles of good governance and respect for rule of law. Despite its commitment to the CPA, the GoS opted not to implement the Abyei Protocol, one of the six protocols of the agreement. The GoS rejected the report of the Abyei Boundaries Commission (ABC), while SPLM accepted it as final and binding as per the provisions of the CPA. This dispute over this report lasted more than three years and resulted in eruption of war in the Abyei Area that caused massive displacement and loss of innocent lives. In an effort to avoid further conflict, the parties agreed to take their dispute to the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) in the Hague for final and binding decision. Since the Abyei Arbitration Tribunal issued its final and binding decision over the boundaries of Abyei Area, its implementation faces enormous challenges including the reluctance by GoS to respect the award. Sudan has a record of dishonouring agreements and if it is allowed again to dishonor this agreement, there will be no chance of addressing the root causes of conflict in the Sudan. The successful implementation of the decision of the Abyei Tribunal will be a litmus test to the commitment of the Sudanese leadership and the international community to the full implementation of the CPA as the only hope for building peace and reforming Sudan for better.