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STORY: UN / UNISFA ABYEI
TRT: 3:59
SOURCE: UNIFEED
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGES: ENGLISH / ARABIC / NATS
DATELINE: 9 MAY 2023, NEW YORK CITY / FILE
FILE - NEW YORK CITY
1. Wide shot, exterior UN Headquarters
27 OCTOBER 2022, NEW YORK CITY
2. Wide shot, Security Council
3. SOUNDBITE (English) Martha Ama Akyaa Pobee, Assistant Secretary-General for Africa, Departments of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs and Peace Operations, United Nations:
“Despite the positive momentum created earlier in the reporting period, the outbreak of violence in the Sudan may deeply impact the chance for political progress on Abyei and border issues. With fighting ongoing and mediation efforts underway, the United Nations will continue to support the Sudan and South Sudan when dialogue on Abyei resumes.”
4. Wide shot, Security Council
5. SOUNDBITE (English) Martha Ama Akyaa Pobee, Assistant Secretary-General for Africa, Departments of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs and Peace Operations, United Nations:
“The humanitarian environment in Abyei remained challenging, with UN and non-governmental organizations providing assistance to some 212,000 vulnerable people in Abyei, including roughly 30,000 internally displaced. During the reporting period, inter-communal violence impacted humanitarian efforts, with some organizations withdrawing from the Agok area due to violence in February, and two aid workers being killed during an attack in Rumamier on 2 January.”
6. Close up, Security Council President
7. SOUNDBITE (English) Hanna Serwaa Tetteh, Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for the Horn of Africa:
“The unprecedented conflict that erupted in Sudan on the 15th of April between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), as well as having a devastating impact on the Sudanese population, is also profoundly affecting the bilateral relationship between Sudan and South Sudan. The humanitarian security, economic and political consequences of the developments in the Sudan have raised concerns among the South Sudanese, political leadership.”
8. Med shot, Council members
9. SOUNDBITE (English) Hanna Serwaa Tetteh, Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for the Horn of Africa:
“There is the potential for more than 200,000 South Sudanese refugees hosted by the Sudan returning if we do not see stability returning soon. Now this would be a challenge to a country where two thirds of the population already require humanitarian assistance, as the Sudanese authorities are not currently in a position to effectively protect their borders. The insecurity at the border between Sudan and South Sudan could increase with cross border movements of armed and criminal groups.”
10. Close up, Security Council President
11. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Al-Harith Idriss Al-Harith Mohamed, Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Sudan:
“We would like to stress the fact that the situation in Abyei will not be impacted by the current situation in the Sudan, and this has been stressed in the recent meetings between both countries. We also stressed the fact that the Sudan is committed to a peaceful solution for the current conflict, which was launched by a rebel group against the armed forces.”
12. Med shot, Council members
13. SOUNDBITE (English) Akuei Bona Malwal, Permanent Representative to the United Nations, South Sudan:
“This briefing comes at the time when the Sudan is going through a very difficult circumstance. As stated in the report, the relations between the two countries are cordial and it remains so despite the ongoing misunderstanding between the warring parties. Thus, we call on the international community to step up to the unfolding demands on the humanitarian situation within the Sudan and in the neighbouring countries who have received refugees within few days unprepared after the fighting ensued in Khartoum and other parts of the Sudan.”
14. Wide shot, Security Council
UN top officials warned the Security Council that the conflict in Sudan can impact the situation in Abyei, the disputed region between Sudan and South Sudan.
Briefing the Council on Tuesday (9 May), the Assistant Secretary-General for Africa, Martha Ama Akyaa Pobee, said that “despite the positive momentum created earlier in the reporting period, the outbreak of violence in the Sudan may deeply impact the chance for political progress on Abyei and border issues.”
Pobee added, “With fighting ongoing and mediation efforts underway, the United Nations will continue to support the Sudan and South Sudan when dialogue on Abyei resumes.”
According to the Assistant Secretary-General, “the humanitarian environment in Abyei remained challenging, with UN and non-governmental organizations providing assistance to some 212,000 vulnerable people in Abyei, including roughly 30,000 internally displaced.”
During the reporting period, Pobee informed, “inter-communal violence impacted humanitarian efforts, with some organizations withdrawing from the Agok area due to violence in February, and two aid workers being killed during an attack in Rumamier on 2 January.”
The Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for the Horn of Africa, Hanna Serwaa Tetteh, also addressed the Council, noting that “the unprecedented conflict that erupted in Sudan on the 15th of April between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), as well as having a devastating impact on the Sudanese population, is also profoundly affecting the bilateral relationship between Sudan and South Sudan.”
According to Tetteh, “the humanitarian security, economic and political consequences of the developments in the Sudan have raised concerns among the South Sudanese, political leadership.”
The Special Envoy, added “There is the potential for more than 200,000 South Sudanese refugees hosted by the Sudan returning if we do not see stability returning soon.”
According to her, “this would be a challenge to a country where two thirds of the population already require humanitarian assistance, as the Sudanese authorities are not currently in a position to effectively protect their borders.”
Tetteh also noted that “the insecurity at the border between Sudan and South Sudan could increase with cross border movements of armed and criminal groups.”
Representing Sudan, Permanent Representative Al-Harith Idriss Al-Harith Mohamed said, “We would like to stress the fact that the situation in Abyei will not be impacted by the current situation in the Sudan, and this has been stressed in the recent meetings between both countries.”
Mohamed also said his country wanted to stress “the fact that the Sudan is committed to a peaceful solution for the current conflict, which was launched by a rebel group against the armed forces.”
Akuei Bona Malwal, the South Sudan Permanent Representative, said that “this briefing comes at the time when the Sudan is going through a very difficult circumstance”, even though “the relations between the two countries are cordial and it remains so despite the ongoing misunderstanding between the warring parties.”
Malwal concluded by calling on the international community “to step up to the unfolding demands on the humanitarian situation within the Sudan and in the neighbouring countries who have received refugees within few days unprepared after the fighting ensued in Khartoum and other parts of the Sudan.”
