Executive Summary
Executive SummaryIn February 2016, after a series of meetings between Ngok Dinka and Misseriya chiefs, a peace agreement was signed in Noong (west of Abyei). The local mediation was initiated in 2015 by Chief Nyuon Pagot, after a lack of cooperation between the two communities since the 2011 Abyei conflict. During this period, Concordis, an international non-governmental organisation (NGO), became involved to provide logistical support, and to help facilitate the meetings. They drew on their peacebuilding experience in Northern Bahr el Ghazal where they had mediated peace in Aweil between Dinka Malual and Misseriya Rezeigaat in 2015.The process involved meetings, but also a prolonged commitment to trust building and truth telling. Concordis had to leave their work in Abyei after 2016 because of funding restraints, but peace meetings continued, supported by United Nations Interim Security Forces in Abyei (UNISFA) and other actors such as the World Food Programme (WFP), International Organisation for Migration (IOM), and Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO). The continuation of these peace meetings after Concordis’ departure highlights their necessity, as well as the need for further continuity.
The main implementation mechanism for the 2016 agreement was the formation of the Joint Community Peace Committee (JCPC) comprised of 10 Ngok Dinka and 10 Misseriya. This governing body’s functions included coordinating with UNISFA, organising migration conferences, supporting conflict resolution, ruling on compensation, and overseeing the work of its sub-committees, including the community police committee, a court, and a committee on trade. There is also a detention centre (two containers) provided by UNISFA. The agreement and JCPC have been lauded for reducing the number of killings and incidences of violence conflict. Peaceful pastoralist migrations into the Abyei area are now taking place. The Amiet Market is one of the biggest achievements of the agreement. Not only is the market a meeting place, but it stabilised the flow of goods to and from Sudan and South Sudan. However, the market itself is not without contestation; it constructs social hierarchies as much as mingling communities. For example, the traders and shop owners are consistently Misseriya, with Ngok Dinka only working as porters or owning tea shops. Revenues are seen to be flowing north, and social distinctions reinforced. The rapid growth of the market has also made it difficult to govern.
A weakness of the local peace agreement (LPA) is that it relies heavily on external support from national and international bodies to be meaningful. UNISFA has been crucial in providing backing for the JCPC. However, the political and economic interests of Sudan and South Sudan are very visible in the Abyei region. This has made it seemingly impossible for local peace to avoid being entangled with national politics.