Sudan/South Sudan : "The status quo in Abiye is a dangerous gamble." [fr]

Mr. President,

I thank Ms. Martha Pobee and Ms. Hanna Tetteh for their interventions.

I welcome the participation of Sudan and South Sudan in this meeting.
I would like to emphasize three points.

We are concerned about the changing nature of inter-communal violence, with clashes between Ngok and Twic Dinka. This violence goes hand in hand with an increase in attacks against peacekeepers, which are also unacceptable. We call on Sudan and South Sudan to reduce these tensions.

Both countries are bound by the status of force agreement. They must allow UNISFA to fulfill its mandate safely throughout its areas of deployment. I am referring to the support to the border monitoring and verification mechanism, the JBVMM, but also the use to the Athony air strip.

These difficulties demonstrate that the status quo in Abiye is a dangerous gamble. At any moment, accumulated tensions and the fragility of institutions can lead to escalation.

We call on Khartoum and Juba to take advantage of their warming relations to settle the final status of Abyei. At a minimum, it should be possible to meet the basic needs of the population and reduce inter-communal tensions. In this regard, we welcome the agreement signed on October 24 in Khartoum and call for its implementation.
UNISFA can support a positive dynamic through its peacebuilding activities and its support to the community protection committees. To scale up this approach, the appointment of a deputy head of UNISFA and the deployment of UN police units must be unlocked.

The stalemate in Abyei reflects the fragility of a region where crises are multiplying and lasting.

A year has passed since the October 25, 2021 coup in Sudan. This political crisis continues to hamper the peace process in Darfur and the settlement of the status of Abyei. It also hampers the response to inter-communal violence, which has recently resurfaced in a worrying way in West Kordofan and Blue Nile. France reiterates its call to all parties to identify a way out of the political crisis and to make progress toward the formation of a credible civilian government.

In South Sudan, the priority must remain to accelerate the implementation of the 2018 peace agreement. We encourage the authorities to put unity first and accelerate the implementation of security arrangements, in line with the roadmap adopted last August.

Finally, we encourage the countries of the region to resolve their differences through dialogue, whether it is Abyei, the El-Fashaga triangle, the Renaissance Dam, or the conflict in Tigray. In this context, we reiterate our support to Special Envoy Hanna Tetteh and we are in favor of strengthening the resources of her team.

Thank you.