PSC/AHG/COMM/2.(CCCXCVII) Page 2 7. Further notes with satisfaction the cooperation extended by Sudan and South Sudan to the Abyei Area Joint Investigation/Inquiry Committee, which has completed its work and is expected to submit its report soon; 8. Welcomes the plan to convene a conference on the issue of the soft border, under the auspices of the AU and international partners, to be presided over by the two Vice-Presidents and include the Governors of the states of Sudan and South Sudan adjoining the common border, in order to expedite cooperation; 9. Welcomes the commitment by the two Presidents, following their Summit meeting of 3 September 2013, to proceed expeditiously with the implementation of the Agreement on Temporary Administrative and Security Arrangements for the Abyei Area of 20 June 2011. Council calls upon the two Governments to facilitate the rapid and safe return of refugees and displaced persons, assist with the rehabilitation and development of the communities in and adjacent to Abyei, and provide for the peaceful migration of nomadic pastoralists during the coming dry season. Council calls for a special partners’ conference to mobilize assistance for Abyei, and calls for the implementation of the commitment to provide 2% of oil revenues originating from Abyei for the development of the Area; 10. Reiterates its confidence in and support for UNISFA. Council also reiterates the principle that Abyei is to be demilitarized fully, excepting UNISFA, which entails ensuring that the police force stationed in Diffra is withdrawn and replaced by the Abyei Area Police Service; 11. Reiterates its acceptance of the AUHIP Proposal on the Final Status of Abyei of 21 September 2012. Council calls upon the two Presidents to resume their discussions on the Final Status of Abyei on the basis of this Proposal, bearing in mind the need to ensure that Abyei serve as a bridge between South Sudan and Sudan, as envisaged in the Abyei Protocol of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA). Council urges the two Governments to establish the Abyei Area Referendum Commission, review and adopt a revised referendum law in line with the AUHIP Proposal, and requests both Governments to submit the list of their nominees to the AUHIP. Council urges the two countries not to undertake any unilateral actions concerning Abyei that might impede progress towards the implementation of these commitments; 12. Reiterates its conviction that there can be no military solution to the conflict in the Two Areas, and that there is no alternative to the Parties engaging in direct negotiations towards a political settlement. Council hopes that the recent steps towards the normalization of relations between Sudan and South Sudan will create a conducive and cooperative environment in which negotiations can resume, based upon the Framework Agreement of 28 June 2011, as well as the proposed agreement submitted by the AUHIP to the Parties on 17 September 2012; 13. Recalls the mandate given by Council to the AUHIP through communiqué PSC/AHG/COMM.1(CCVII) adopted at its 207th meeting held on 29 October 2009, to assist the Sudanese parties in the implementation of the CPA and other related processes, as part of the democratic transformation of the Sudan. In this regard, Council welcomes the steps taken by the Panel to assist the Parties in this respect, through advice and facilitation, and affirms the guiding principles of democratic inclusiveness and unity in diversity that should inform the goals and processes of national dialogue and constitution making in the two sovereign nations of South Sudan and Sudan;