Agreement between the Government of The Sudan and Government of Southern Sudan on Border Security and the Joint Political and Security Mechanism, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

• Country/entity

  South Sudan
  Sudan
  
• Region

  Africa (excl MENA)
  Africa (excl MENA)
  
• Agreement name

  Agreement between the Government of The Sudan and Government of Southern Sudan on Border Security and the Joint Political and Security Mechanism, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
• Date

  29 Jun 2011
• Agreement status

  Multiparty signed/agreed
• Interim arrangement

  Yes
• Agreement/conflict level

  Interstate/intrastate conflict(s) ( Sudan Conflicts (1955 - ) )
• Stage

  Implementation/renegotiation
• Conflict nature

  Territory
• Peace process

  North - South Sudan secession process
• Parties

  Ali Ahmed Hamid, Government of the Sudan; Lt. Gen Salva Mathok, Government of Southern Sudan
• Third parties

  Witnessed by: Thabo Mvuyelwa Mbeki, African Union High Level Implementation Panel
• Description

  A short agreement by the parties that provides for measures on border security by reaffirming the Security Cluster Agreement on the Joint Political and Security Mechanism (JPSM) and the Joint Position Paper on Security, as well as establishing a Safe Demilitarised Border Zone (SDBZ) to be monitored by the UN Interim Security Force for Abyei (UNISFA) on a renewable six month basis. Furthermore, the Parties request the AU and the UN to support the agreement and its implementation.

• Agreement document

  SD_110629_Agreement between GoS and GoSS on Border Security and JPSM.pdf | Download PDF

Groups

Gender

State definition

Governance

Power sharing

Human rights and equality

Rights related issues

Rights institutions

Justice sector reform

Socio-economic reconstruction

Land, property and environment

Security sector

Transitional justice

Implementation

AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE GOVERNMENT OF THE SUDAN AND THE GOVERNMENT OF SOUTHERN SUDAN ON BORDER SECURITY AND THE JOINT POLITICAL AND SECURITY MECHANISM

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

29 June 2011

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1. The Government of Sudan and Government of Southern Sudan, hereinafter the Parties, reaffirm the Security Cluster Agreement on the Joint Political and Security Mechanism (JPSM), signed on 7 December 2010 in Juba, and the “Kuriftu” Joint Position Paper signed on 30 May 2011 in Addis Ababa.

2. The Parties shall establish a Safe Demilitarised Border Zone (SDBZ, formerly ‘Common Border Zone’), where the forces of the two Parties shall be redeployed 10 kilometres outside from the north/south 1/1/1956 borderline, pending the resolution of the status of disputed border areas and the final demarcation of the border.

This shall take effect by D-Day + 10 days.

The administrative common border line shall be used for those areas which are disputed.

The Technical Boundary Demarcation Committee shall provide the required maps.

The JPSM with other agreed associated security mechanisms shall be operationalized before 9 July 2011 until normal relationships prevail between the two sovereign States.

3. This agreement further provides for United Nations Interim Security Force for Abyei (UNISFA), (Ethiopian troops) to provide force protection for the international border monitoring verification mission.

4. The Parties shall invite the AU and UN to provide external support for monitoring, verification in the SDBZ.

The Parties and UNISFA shall constitute a joint committee to draft the mandate, renewable upon agreement of the Parties on a six-monthly basis, for the core mission of monitoring security in the SDBZ in order to avoid destabilizing situations through joint observation by unarmed observers from the Parties supported by UN observers.

The intent is to:

● Assist in building mutual trust, confidence and an environment which encourages long-term stability and economic development through verification, investigations, monitoring, arbitrations, training, liaison, coordination, reporting, information exchange, and joint patrols;

● Create capacity for effective bilateral management mechanisms.

● Assist, facilitate and help to protect the demarcation teams within the SDBZ as requested by the JPSM.

5. A joint committee of the Parties and UNISFA shall jointly assess the mission headquarters, number of teams in each sector and their locations, and personnel that should be assigned to these tasks.

This assessment will be submitted to the JPSM for approval.

Following that, within an overall limit of 4,200 Ethiopian troops for UNISFA and this border mission combined, the Force Commander of UNISFA after consultation with the Parties, will assess the operational requirements of force protection and air and logistical support for the border mission, and inform the JPSM accordingly.

6. The Parties request the African Union and the United Nations to support this agreement and its implementation.

Signed this 29th day of June 2011 in Addis Ababa

------------------------ -------------------------

Ali Ahmed Hamid Lt.

Gen Salva Mathok

Government of the Sudan Government of Southern Sudan

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Witnessed by

Thabo Mvuyelwa Mbeki

African Union High Level Implementation Panel

(1) Set by UNSC Resolution 1990.