من الثالث عشر وحتى الثالث والعشرون من ابريل الحالى موعد المرافعات الشفوية في قضية ابيي بلاهاي

Quote: D. Origins of the Dispute Submitted to the Tribunal 10. Since the Parties could not agree on the extent of the area defined in Article 5.1, an Abyei Boundaries Commission (“ABC” or “the Commission”) was provided for. The relevant article of the Abyei Protocol – the only article of the CPA pertaining to the work of the Commission – provided: “5 Determination of Geographic Boundaries 5.1 There shall be established by the Presidency, Abyei Boundaries Commission (ABC) to define and demarcate the Area of the nine Ngok Dinka Chiefdoms transferred to Kordofan in 1905, referred to herein as Abyei Area. 5.2 The composition and timeframe of the Abyei Boundaries Commission shall be determined by the Presidency. However, the Commission shall include, inter alia, experts, representatives of the local communities and the local administration. The Commission shall finish its work within the first two years of the Interim Period. 5.3 The Abyei Boundaries Commission (ABC) shall present its final report to the Presidency as soon as it is ready. Upon presentation of the final report, the Presidency shall take necessary action to put the special administrative status of Abyei Area into immediate effect.”6 11. The Understanding on the Abyei Boundaries Commission provided for it to be “composed as follows”: “2.1 One representative from each Party; 2.2 The Parties shall ask the US, UK and IGAD to nominate five impartial experts knowledgeable in history, geography and any other relevant expertise. The ABC shall be chaired by one of those experts; 2.3 Each Party shall nominate two from the present two administrations of Abyei Area; 2.4 The GOS shall nominate two from the Messiriya; 2.5 The SPLM/A shall nominate two from the neighbouring Dinka tribes to the South of Abyei Area.”7 12. The Understanding set out the basis on which the Commission was to make its decision: 6 Abyei Protocol, signed at Naivasha, Kenya, 26 May 2004, Chapter IV of the CPA (SM Annex 71). 7 Understanding on Abyei Boundaries Commission, 17 December 2004 (SM Annex 69). 6 “4. In determining their findings, the Experts in the Commission shall consult the British Archives and other relevant sources on Sudan wherever they may be available, with a view to arriving at a decision that shall be based on scientific analysis and research. The experts shall also determine the rules of procedure of the ABC.” 13. The Experts were Donald Petterson (Chair), Dr. Douglas Johnson, Professor Godfrey Muriuki, Professor Kassahun Berhanu and Professor Shadrack Gutto (hereafter “the ABC Experts”). They presented their Report on 14 July 2005. They concluded: “1) The Ngok have a legitimate dominant claim to the territory from the Kordofan-Bahr el-Ghazal boundary north to latitude 10°10’ N, stretching from the boundary with Darfur to the boundary with Upper Nile, as they were in 1956; 2) North of latitude 10°10’ N, through the Goz up to and including Tebeldia (north of latitude 10°35’ N) the Ngok and Misseriya share isolated occupation and use rights, dating from at least the Condominium period. This gave rise to the shared secondary rights for both the Ngok and Misseriya; 3) The two parties lay equal claim to the shared areas and accordingly it is reasonable and equitable to divide the Goz between them and locate the northern boundary in a straight line at approximately latitude 10°22’30” N. The western boundary shall be the Kordofan-Darfur boundary as it was defined on 1 January 1956. The southern boundary shall be the Kordofan-Bahr el Ghazal-Upper Nile boundary as it was defined on 1 January 1956. The eastern boundary shall extend the line of the Kordofan-Upper Nile boundary at approximately longitude 29°32’15’’ E northwards until it meets latitude 10°22’30’’N; ...”8 14. The ABC Experts stipulated that the Ngok and Misseriya should “retain their established secondary rights to the use of land north and south of this boundary.”9 15. The GoS immediately rejected the decision on the basis, inter alia, that the ABC had acted beyond its authority as it was only mandated to define and demarcate the area of the nine Ngok Dinka Chiefdoms transferred from Bahr el Ghazal to Kordofan Province in 1905.