The UK has backed a one‑year renewal of the UN Interim Security Force for Abyei (UNISFA), telling the UN Security Council on 14 November 2025 that the mission remains essential to stability and civilian protection in the disputed area. The UK also thanked the United States for steering the text.

The renewal keeps UNISFA focused on protection of civilians while pressing Sudan and South Sudan to support the mission and move towards demilitarisation and a joint police force for Abyei. The text also sets benchmarks and asks the UN Secretary‑General to report by August 2026 on measurable progress.

London’s envoy stressed that any future drawdown decisions must be guided by a full assessment of risks to civilians. She also urged both governments to implement steps consistent with the resolution to prevent a security vacuum around communities that rely on cross‑border markets, water points and seasonal grazing.

The UK flagged a gap in the final language: conflict drivers in Abyei cannot be tackled without sustained attention to climate impacts and the needs of women and girls, yet some of this wording was removed. Negotiations tracking from Security Council Report confirms that references to Women, Peace and Security and climate were pared back in places compared with earlier drafts.

Climate risk in Abyei is already visible. SIPRI notes hotter, drier conditions and erratic rainfall that shape the timing and routes of transhumance, squeezing herders and farmers into narrower resource windows and raising the stakes at water points and on pasture. In short, the weather now sets the tempo for peace.

Flooding has become a pressure point, too. OCHA’s 2024 flood update cited 1.4 million people affected and almost 380,000 displaced across South Sudan, explicitly including the Abyei Administrative Area - a reminder that extreme weather and access constraints can quickly upend humanitarian work and inter‑communal relations.

There are workable fixes that match the realities of life along the border. UNISFA and partners have supported corridor agreements and a post‑migration conference that leaders say delivered a largely peaceful season, with women comprising 41 per cent of participants - evidence that inclusive committees can ease tensions when resources are tight.

Women’s participation is gaining structure. In June, Ngok Dinka and Misseriya women launched a Joint Women’s Committee to feed security concerns and solutions into corridor decision‑making. And in May 2025, UN peacekeepers serving in Abyei received the UN Military Gender Advocate of the Year award for integrating women and girls’ protection into daily patrolling and community work.

The humanitarian picture remains strained. The UK warned this month that new arrivals from Sudan’s war are piling pressure on scarce services, while the presence of armed actors - including SSPDF and RSF - has undermined civilian safety and even halted mine‑clearance in parts of Abyei.

Regional food insecurity compounds the risk. The latest IPC Special Snapshot confirms famine in El Fasher and Kadugli and estimates 21.2 million people across Sudan faced high levels of acute food insecurity at the lean‑season peak - a backdrop that makes climate‑smart resource sharing and UNISFA’s protection work even more urgent in Abyei.

What should happen next is clear and doable: fund water points and veterinary services along agreed migration corridors, scale up climate information services for farmers and herders, expand women’s representation in corridor and community courts, and keep UNISFA resourced to protect civilians while local policing and justice mature. FAO’s cross‑border programmes already provide a template for this kind of practical support in the Abyei cluster.

The UK says it will keep working across the Council to ensure the mission delivers for Abyei’s communities. With a fresh mandate in place, the measure of success by next year’s review is simple: fewer civilian casualties, safer migration seasons and women’s leadership embedded in how security and climate decisions are made.