Addis Ababa - (Press Release) The African Union Border Programme (AUBP), through its technical team (AUBPTT), completed the first phase of the marking exercise by marking three of the ten crossing points along the corridors of the Safe Demilitarized Border Zone (SDBZ) between the Republic of South Sudan and Sudan, in line with the directives issued by the African Union High-Level Implementation Panel (AUHIP) as well as the Joint Political and Security Mechanism (JPSM) on Sudan and South Sudan.
The marking of the corridors signifies an important milestone in the implementation of the Cooperation Agreement between Sudan and South Sudan. The main objective of the marking exercise is to make a conclusive technical determination about where the SDBZ center-line is on the ground to enable the parties to withdraw their forces within the zone and to facilitate the free movement of people and formal trade between the two countries.
The Commission of the African Union expresses its appreciation and gratitude to the Governments of Sudan and South Sudan for their engagement, cooperation and support in facilitating the marking of the three crossing points along the corridors of the SDBZ. The Commission wishes to assure the two countries of AU’s commitment to assist them in marking the remaining border crossing points of the SDBZ.
The AUBP program was established as part of AU’s efforts to enhance capacities for structural conflict prevention in AU member states. The main objective of the African Union Border Programme is the promotion of peace, security and stability through its three pillars: Delimitation and demarcation of borders, cross-border cooperation and capacity building.