ABYEI
 | Women in Abyei operate a water pump from a USAID-funded program. Photo credit: Miquel Samper.
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As part of its efforts to reinforce peace and help Sudan implement the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) that ended nearly 22 years of civil war between northern and southern Sudan, USAID has provided assistance to the people of Abyei, a resource-rich yet marginalized area of some 4,000 square miles that the CPA describes as "a bridge between the north and the south, linking the people of Sudan."
Referendum and Abyei's Future Status
The CPA provides that the residents of Abyei vote in a referendum on whether they would remain part of northern Sudan, or become part of southern Sudan, irrespective of the results of the January 2011 referendum on self-determination for southern Sudan, in which voters overwhelming chose to secede and form an independent nation as of July 9, 2011. The CPA stipulated that the two referenda were to happen simultaneously, but the CPA parties-the Government of Sudan and the Sudan People's Liberation Movement-were unable to agree on who qualifies as a resident of Abyei and would therefore have the right to vote in the referendum.
USAID provided comprehensive assistance to the CPA parties to implement the southern referendum, and has stood ready to provide similar assistance for a referendum on Abyei if the CPA parties name an Abyei Area Referendum Commission to oversee the process, as required in the CPA.
Permanent Court of Arbitration Ruling on Abyei Boundaries
The CPA parties disputed the Abyei boundaries, and in 2008, agreed to submit the matter to the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague. On July 22, 2009, the Court issued its decision in the case, including a map. Despite conflict over Abyei that has resumed as recently as May 2011, the CPA parties have repeatedly upheld their commitment to the Permanent Court of Arbitration's ruling, including in the Agreement on Temporary Arrangements for the Administration and Security of the Abyei Area of June 20, 2011.
UN Peacekeeping Force
On June 27, 2011, the United Nations Security Council established the UN Interim Security Force for Abyei (UNISFA), which is mandated to ensure that the area is demilitarized from any forces other than those of the UN and the Abyei Police Service, provide de-mining assistance, and facilitate the delivery of humanitarian aid and free movement of humanitarian personnel.
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