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UNITED NATIONS: The United States on Wednesday threatened to oppose the renewal of a UN peacekeeping mission to Abyei, a disputed region between war-torn Sudan and South Sudan, unless both sides uphold a 2011 peace deal.
At a UN Security Council meeting, the US ambassador laid down Washington’s conditions for renewing the mandate of the United Nations Interim Security Force for Abyei (UNISFA), which expires on November 15.
“We recognize Sudan and South Sudan are facing historic and significant internal challenges and instability. It does not absolve authorities of their responsibility to implement their key commitments under the 2011 peace agreement,” Mike Waltz told the Security Council.
“Sudan and South Sudan must now uphold their commitment to the 2011 peace agreement and UNISFA’s mandate to secure the United States support of this renewal,” he said.
To secure Washington’s support for an extended UNISFA mandate, the neighboring countries need to ensure that Abyei is a demilitarized zone, establish temporary administrative and security arrangements such as a joint Abyei police force, and determine the region’s final status, Waltz said.
Abyei’s status has remained unresolved since South Sudan gained independence and became a nation in 2011.
Clashes are frequent in the oil-rich border region between the two countries, where several thousand UN peacekeepers are deployed under UNISFA’s auspices.
Sudan is in the grips of a vicious civil war.
Abyei is supposed to be a demilitarized zone but UN officials have voiced concern about the presence of South Sudanese forces, as well as Sudanese paramilitaries from the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), who have been engaged in a power struggle in Sudan since 2023.
“The people of Abyei have been waiting 14 years for the establishment of the temporary administrative and security arrangements, including the Joint Abyei police service and a determination of Abyei’s final status,” Waltz said on Wednesday.
The inaction of Sudan and South Sudan and the deliberate undermining of the peace agreement “raises serious doubts for the United States about continuing its support for UNISFA’s mandate, unless Sudan and South Sudan demonstrate immediate and tangible progress,” the American ambassador warned.
Since President Donald Trump returned to the White House in January, the United States has been outspoken in its criticism of the UN and significantly reduced its contribution to the UN peacekeeping budget.
Leveraging their veto power on the Security Council, the Americans have in recent months pushed it to decide on ending the UN peacekeeping mission in Lebanon in 2027, and to restrict the mandate of the UN’s political mission in Colombia.