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Egypt-Sudan
The sovereignty dispute over the Halaib [Hala'ib] Triangle and associated
offshore areas relates to the interpretation of an 1899 agreement between
Britain and the Khedive of Egypt for shared administration of the Sudan.
That agreement defined the Sudan as "all the territories south of the 22nd
parallel of latitude" (Brownlie, 1979, p. 111). An Arrêté and Decree of 1902
placed the lands of the Ababda tribe south of 22ºN placed under Egyptian
administration, while grazing lands of the Beja tribe north of 22ºN (the
Halaib Triangle) were put under Sudanese administration. Subsequent Egyptian
administrative activities, maps, and other authorities confirmed the
administrative nature of the line north of the 22nd parallel. The Sudanese
administered territory comprises about 18,000 sq. km of desert. The area
includes three small towns: Halaib, Shalataun, and Abu Ramad. Some 20,000
people, mostly nomads, inhabit the area. (Brownlie, 1979, pp. 112-20; Office
of the Geographer, 1962)
When Sudan became independent, in 1956, Egypt treated the 22nd parallel as
the international boundary. In 1958 when Sudan prepared to hold elections in
areas north of the parallel, the Egyptian government asserted sovereignty
over all the territories north of 22ºN. Sudan replied in a 20 February 1958
letter to the UN Security Council that the territories claimed by Egypt were
under the sovereignty of Sudan. The territorial dispute became more salient
as other issues, such as water-sharing, aggravated bilateral relations.
(Brownlie, 1979, pp. 112-13; UN Doc. S/3963 [1958]).
Tension over the disputed territory increased after General Al-Bashir came
to power in Sudan following a coup in 1989. The straight baseline system
that Egypt delimited in 1990 (see below) enclosed the Halaib Triangle
coastline, terminating with Point 56 at 22ºN latitude (Figure 4. Egypt:
Straight Baseline Claim, Red Sea Points 41-56).
In 1991, Egypt objected when Sudan granted an oil exploration concession
offshore of the Halaib Triangle. Sudan reiterated its sovereignty claim, in
1992, but offered to negotiate a solution. The countries formed a joint
legal committee that was tasked to resolve the border. However, Egypt made a
distinction between administrative boundaries and oil and political borders.
In 1994, Sudan suggested submitting the dispute to the International Court
of Justice (ICJ). After the attempted assassination of Egyptian President
Mubarak in Ethiopia on 26 June 1995 and allegations of Sudanese complicity,
Egyptian forces expelled Sudanese police and officials from the Halaib area
in July 1995. Two Sudanese policemen were killed. Sudan responded by asking
the UN Security Council to intervene and force Egypt to accept international
arbitration. It also seized Egyptian property, including the Khartoum branch
of Cairo University. Sudan claimed that the Egyptian authorities in the
Halaib Triangle were pressing Sudanese civilians to leave the area. On 31
January 1996, the Security Council passed a resolution calling on Sudan to
extradite three suspects connected to the assassination attempt to Ethiopia
Egypt and Sudan also disagree about the status of the Wadi Halfa Salient
along the Nile. See Brownlie, pp. 111-15.
In 1998, Sudan restored Egyptian-owned properties that had been
nationalized. Bilateral relations improved, and President Al-Bashir visited
Egypt in December 1999. During the visit, the countries agreed to normalize
relations and issued a joint communiqué pledging to resolve the Halaib issue
"in an integrational brotherly context that would form a lead in the process
of full integration between the two countries." It remains to be seen if the
promise leads to progress in resolving the territorial dispute. (PANA 15
March 1998; Egypt-Sudan Communiqué, 2 December 1999)
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Dr Brendan Whyte
Development Studies Programme Administrator
School of Anthropology, Geography and Environmental Studies (SAGES)
University of Melbourne
Vic 3010
AUSTRALIA
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