UN Interim Security Force in Abyei (UNISFA)

Mission Mandate

On June 27, 2011, the UN Security Council voted unanimously to establish the UN Interim Security Force in Abyei (UNISFA), a six-month peacekeeping mission for the Abyei region on the border of Sudan and South Sudan. Resolution 1990, drafted and championed by the United States, provides for the deployment of up to 4,200 Ethiopian troops to provide security and protect civilians under imminent threat of violence in the disputed border region.  On December 14th 2011, the Security Council passed UNSC Resolution 2024, extending the UN presence and expanding UNISFA’s mandate to include monitoring along the entire border between North and South Sudan, including the Blue Nile and Southern Kordofan regions, in line with initial withdrawal agreement.

UNISFA’s mandate includes:

• Monitoring the withdrawal of the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and   the Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA) of the south from the Abyei region;
• Protecting civilians under imminent threat of physical  violence;
• Facilitating the return of refugees and displaced persons;
• Monitoring the state of human rights in Abyei;
• Providing security to the region’s oil infrastructure;
• Facilitating the delivery of humanitarian assistance and freedom of movement for aid workers;
• Providing technical support to de-mining efforts in the region;
• Strengthening the capacity of the Abyei Police Service;
• Ensuring parties observe  the Safe Demilitarized Border Zone;
• Supporting the operational activities of the Joint Border Verification and Monitoring Mechanism (JBVMM);
• Assisting and advising the JBVMM in its overall coordination of planning and monitoring and verification of the implementation of the Joint Position Paper on Border Security;
• Assisting the JBVMM to maintain the necessary chart, geographical, and mapping references;
• Facilitating the liaison between the parties;
• Supporting the parties, when requested, in developing effective bilateral management mechanisms along the border; and
• Assisting in building mutual trust.

Background

The Abyei region, which lies along the border between Sudan and South Sudan, remains contested by both countries. Due to the presence of oil in the region, Abyei is of significant economic value to both the governments in Khartoum and in Juba. Under the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement, Abyei was scheduled to hold a referendum in January 2011 to determine if it would remain part of the North or join with the South. However, concerns over voter eligibility prevented the referendum from occurring.

Beginning in late May 2011, Abyei was the scene of intense clashes and looting after the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) launched a major assault on Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA) forces in the area. The fighting left hundreds dead and displaced over 110,000 residents. In response, the SPLA increased troop presence as well, creating a standoff between North and South. Currently, both countries’ military presence in the region remains in violation of the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement.  To address this ongoing crisis, the international community has supported talks between the Khartoum and Juba to oversee the withdrawal of all forces from the region.UNISFA was created to facilitate this process.

How This Affects American Interests

• Promotes stability in the region. The United States drafted Security Council Resolution 1990 to ensure that a peaceful political process would take place to determine the future status of Abyei. The U.S. has been fully invested in the peace process in the region and supported both the negotiation and implementation of the CPA to maintain stability in the Horn of Africa and deny potential safe havens to terrorists. Both Republican and Democratic Administrations have prioritized U.S. engagement in Sudan and South Sudan, with Presidents Bush and Obama appointing Special Envoys to help promote security and stability.
  
  
• Promotes Regional Security.  In the wake of South Sudanese independence and the ongoing crisis in Abyei, regional security remains of paramount interest to both the United States and UN.  In order to prevent a broader regional conflict, the UN Security Council authorized the deployment of UNISFA.  However, this has failed to prevent SAF from moving troops into Abyei and neighboring South Kordofan and Blue Nile provinces.
  
  
• Locates and clears unexploded ordinance (UXO) landmines.  The identification and clearance of unexploded landmines is an urgent humanitarian need – they are a major obstacle to regional security and to the return of internally displaced persons to their homes. Landmines are especially dangerous during the annual Misseriya migration across the border between North and South Sudan.  As of November, UNISFA had recovered more than 100 mines despite the continued resistance of both Sudan and South Sudan in providing maps of mine placement throughout the region.

Ongoing Concerns

• Instability in neighboring regions. While the immediate threat of violence in Abyei has subsided, the nearby South Kordofan and Blue Nile states remain unstable; hundreds are thought to have died and more than 363,000 have been displaced.  Moreover, the future political status of both territories continues to be uncertain as both are technically part of the Republic of Sudan but have large southern-aligned populations.  Consequently, South Kordofan and Blue Nile will continue to be a source of contention until these outstanding issues are resolved.  Additionally, the annual Misseriya migration southwards through the Abyei region presents a challenge to peacekeepers in preventing ethnic conflict as well as tension between the Sudan and South Sudan over citizenship status of migrant populations.
  
  
• Humanitarian crisis. Since the outbreak of violence, more than 100,000 people have been displaced in Abyei. Providing humanitarian assistance to these displaced civilians has been difficult due to the Khartoum government preventing aid from reaching populations in need. Despite these challenges, the World Food Program (WFP) and its partners have distributed over 175 tons of food throughout the region. However, with restricted access to aid combined with insufficient food production are predicted to generate alarming levels of food insecurity by March of 2012.
  
  
• Continued SAF and South Sudanese presence in Abyei.  On September 8, 2011, both the SAF and SPLA pledged to withdraw all troops from the region by the end of the month.  However, both SAF and South Sudanese forces, and some individual members of the SPLA remain in Abyei.  Both the North and South have sighted the others’ noncompliance to withdrawal conditions as their reasons for ongoing troop presence. 

*Updated February 2012