Resolving the status of Abyei

We call on you to make a public statement in regard to Abyei, which includes the following points:

Agreements already made by the National Congress Party and Sudanese Peoples Liberation Movement in respect to Abyei must be upheld, and this includes the agreement to abide by the verdict of the Permanent Court of Arbitration as regards Abyeis borders, which cannot be renegotiated.

The reintegration of Sudan into the international community is not a one-off reward for accepting the results of the Southern referendum, and is conditional on fulfilling the conditions of the CPA (especially the Abyei Protocol and popular consultations in the Nuba Mountains and Blue Nile), sustained progress on Darfur, access rights for NGOs and development organisations wishing to work in contested and conflict areas and movement towards democratic norms.

The UK will support calls from campaigning organisations in the US for a working group to develop specific and escalating consequences for anyone using mass violence to undermine peace in South Sudan, Abyei, and Darfur. When determining who has used mass violence to undermine peace, attempts to attach equal blame to different communities will not be accepted without clear evidence that they are equivalent: to do so is to incentivise a cycle of vengeance by failing to reward those who try to minimise bloodshed.