evidence: In response to the UN Secretary-General’s request for a joint programme for Abyei (Security Council Resolution 2609 in December 2021) we established an informal coordination structure which brought together our two Resident Coordinator Offices with UN agencies and the UN Interim Security Force for Abyei (UNISFA: the peacekeeping mission in Abyei). Abyei is a politically disputed Administrative Area between Sudan and South Sudan. The political context in which the UN and partners are operating make collaboration extremely challenging, given that mobility across the region and access to certain communities is restricted. [...] Straddled by Sudan and South Sudan, the politically disputed Abyei Administrative Area is no stranger to violence. Claimed by both governments, its undefined political status in the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) and South Sudan’s referendum for independence in 2011 has created a highly politicized environment where rule of law has been absent beyond customary law and inter-communal conflict is rife. [...] Abyei is also contested on inter-communal grounds. Longstanding territorial disputes, primarily between the agro-pastoralist Misseriya and southern-inhabiting Ngok Dinka communities, frequently erupt into armed attacks, gender-based violence incidents and child abduction. Clashes in February this year displaced over 70,000 people, exacerbating the extant humanitarian crisis.