By Zach Waksman
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa

KHARTOUM, Sudan – Sudan and South Sudan signed a non-aggression agreement regarding their disputed border on Friday.  The pact, signed after negotiations in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, is a first step toward reaching and maintaining a lasting peace in an area that has been wracked by conflict for decades.

According to the deal, both sides agreed to “respect for each other’s sovereignty and territorial integrity” and to “refrain from launching any attack, including bombardment.”  It also creates a system to monitor the border and provide a forum for complaints if the incursions continue. Thabo Mbeki, the former president of South Africa who served as the African Union’s chief negotiator, warned both sides to adhere to the pact’s terms.

“We are very serious … it is the responsibility of both sides to act now,” he said.

Ever since South Sudan became independent last July, the border region has been the site of nearly continuous conflict both between countries and within.  The two nations have accused each other of backing militias.  What has really driven this situation has been a dispute over the distribution of oil through a pipeline that crosses the disputed boundary.  Three-fourths of the oil-rich region’s wealth lay in the south, but the pipeline runs through the north.

As part of the ongoing argument, South Sudan shut down its oil production last month, which might cripple both countries’ economies.  Though oil provides up approximately 98% of its total revenue, South Sudan has taken this path in an effort to force concessions from its neighbor to the north.  It claims Sudan has stolen more than $815 million worth of crude oil.  In response, Sudan says it did so in order to pay off debts owed to it.

South Sudan claims that it will only continue its production once “all the deals are signed.”  In the meantime, Juba has threatened to cease production for years while it builds a new pipeline that runs through Kenya.  That pipeline has drawn skepticism as to its feasibility for many reasons, including that it would go through an area that is considered a war zone.

Progress on the oil issue has been minimal, though negotiations were expected to continue on Saturday.  The lack of speed drew concern from Ban Ki-Moon, Secretary-General of the United Nations, calling for “both countries to make the necessary compromises…that will guarantee a peaceful and prosperous future for both nations.”  In response to Ban’s statement, Sudanese negotiator Sabir Hassan said that Khartoum was more than willing to make concessions, but the South’s emotional responses had made finding common ground difficult.

“If you give them two choices, they’ll choose the one that hurts the north, not the one that helps the south,” Hassan told the New York Times.  Of course, negotiators from the south think the same of the north, exasperating the problem.

Despite the agreement reached Friday, few expect true peace anytime soon.  Improvement is not anticipated, even with means of discussion now available.  To some, peace would be nothing short of a pipe dream.

“I, personally, expect full-fledged war,” said Mariam al-Sadiq al-Mahdi, a leading opposition politician in Khartoum, Sudan’s capital. “This is like the previews before a film.”

For more information, please see:

Al Jazeera — Sudan and S. Sudan Sign Non-Aggression Pact — 11 February 2012

BBC — Sudan and South Sudan Sign Peace Pact, Says Thabo Mbeki — 11 February 2012

Sudan — Khartoum and Juba Sign Non-Aggression Pact — 11 February 2012

New York Times — Sudans’ Oil Feud Risks Shattering a Fragile Peace — 10 February 2012