Strengthening Justice: Training Conference Advances Community-led Justice Systems in Abyei
In February 2025, Concordis and UNISFA gathered 62 members of the Ngok Dinka and Misseriya communities to provide training for their shared governance and justice systems in the Abyei Administrative Area.
“If there is a glimpse of peace in the current times, it’s because of Concordis International’s efforts.”
Sultan Malith Ajak Ajiing, Ngok Dinka Chair of the Joint Community Peace Committee.
“If we take this training seriously and put it into consideration then we will live in peace.”
Jame Sadiq, Misseriya Chair of the Joint Community Peace Committee.
The 10-day-training brought together the Joint Community Peace Committee, Joint Community Court, Community Protection Committee as well as woman and youth representatives of the Ngok Dinka and Misseriya communities. Delivered by lawyers and peacebuilders, they received training in the rule of law, traditional justice systems and law and order processes. They also received training to address the challenges posed by the ongoing war in Sudan that affect both communities, including displacement and refugees.
This gathering was more than just a training. Participants worked collaboratively, facilitated by the Concordis team, to agree recommendations for steps that their respective communities could take to improve access to the rule of justice in Abyei, especially for women. Women and men from across the ethnic divides worked collaboratively to agree on protocols for civil and criminal matters in the absence of external law enforcement agencies.
The Abyei Administrative Area has been a contested region between Sudan and South Sudan since 2005. It lacks state institutions such as the police and judiciary. It has no authority with agreed jurisdiction to hear a dispute between the Ngok Dinka and Misseriya communities. Legal disputes within each community can be brought to trial; but not disputes between members of each group.
For this reason, the joint governance and justice systems - established through the peace dialogues mediated by Concordis since 2016 - are crucial to resolving conflict. The Community Court and the Peace Committee systems continue to evolve, keep the peace and ensure justice for victims in ways that both communities can accept. The training was vital for maintaining and strengthening the law-and-order protocols agreed by the two groups.
The participants from two communities agreed on recommendations and new protocols concerning the rights of detainees, in particular women, and the process of a fair trial. Group discussions also led to agreement on compensation and punishment - for certain crimes committed by one community against the other – remedies that suited both communities’ customary laws.
The opportunity to gather all the participants from the judicial committees led to clarification on the roles, responsibilities and jurisdiction of each committee. In the future, this will ensure cooperation, a clear chain of command and enhance law and order processes for the greater security of the communities.
Women and youth (aged 18-35) representatives brought recommendations and grievances to the committees on improving the governance and justice systems. In the allotted sessions that provided women a platform to address the Peace Committee, and the Community Court women repeatedly recommended further representation of women and youth in the joint mechanisms.
Women have played significant roles in Abyei communities informally but have had limited representation in formal judicial institutions. Since 2021, women have been informally invited to attend court sessions but have not been formally represented in the Community Court. By the end of the training the participants collectively agreed to introduce two women and two youth representatives to the Community Court.
Similarly, they agreed to add two women and two youth representatives to the Peace Committee which since 2023, has only had 2 women representatives of the 40 members.
The group also addressed issues surrounding displaced people arriving in Abyei and made recommendations on how to face the challenges together, including the registration and allocation of land for displaced people to settle on.
Martha Jobe, a lawyer from Juba, South Sudan involved in the training, said,
“It is amazing how far these two groups have come, since a few years ago they wouldn’t sit down together, now they receive training from people outside their community who are younger, female and talking about women’s issues.”
The 2016 peace agreements were only the beginning for the Ngok Dinka and Misseriya communities who continue to strive to enhance their shared justice systems and further equality under the rule of law, all amidst uncertainty in the greater region.