Ban encourages peaceful final settlement of dispute over Sudanese town

As legal arguments in the case over Abyei, an oil-rich town straddling northern and southern Sudan, ended today at a United Nations-backed tribunal in The Hague, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon encouraged the parties to achieve a peaceful final settlement to their dispute.

In a statement issued by his spokesperson, Mr. Ban welcomed the conclusion of the written and verbal arguments on the final settlement of the Abyei dispute before the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA).

The PCA began deliberations nearly three weeks ago on the demarcation of Abyei, which is being contested by the two signatories to the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement that ended the long-running north-south civil war in Sudan – the National Congress Party (NCP) and the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM).

Mr. Ban commended the reiteration, in the Abyei Roadmap Agreement, of the NCP and SPLM's commitment to abide by and implement the decision of the tribunal.

“He encourages the two CPA signatories to achieve a peaceful final settlement to this dispute and to further strengthen their relationship as partners for peace in Sudan,” the statement added.

Mr. Ban stressed in an October 2008 report to the Security Council that “demarcation of the border is a critical benchmark with implications for almost all other benchmarks under the Comprehensive Peace Agreement.”