The three areas: a template for regional agreements
Jason Matus (2006)
The 2002 Machakos Protocol imposed a north-south solution to a problem of the marginalization of Sudan's peripheral regions, and in particular excluded from the south three areas heavily represented in the SPLM/A. Despite government resistance, the SPLM/A eventually secured talks on the 'three areas.' Jason Matus describes the two protocols resulting from these talks, highlighting what was agreed and what was left to post-agreement processes. While the Abyei agreement forms a bridge between north and south, the Southern Kordofan and southern Blue Nile protocol has more national relevance, forming a model for the relationship between centre and states in a federal system. Successful implementation is thus vital, but in both cases it is behind schedule, and there is a risk that the protocols will eventually prove unsustainable and undermine national peace.