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7628th Security Council Meeting: Sudan and South Sudan
Since the outbreak of war in 2013, both sides in South Sudan had engaged in actions that met criteria for the imposition of targeted sanctions, the Security Council heard today, as senior United Nations officials offered rare frontline views into the violence gripping the country and stunted progress towards the formation of a Transitional Government of National Unity.
Fodé Seck (Senegal), Chair of the 2206 (2015) South Sudan Sanctions Committee, presenting the final report of the Group of Experts (document S/2016/70), said there was “clear and convincing” proof that most acts of violence had been perpetrated under the direction, or with the knowledge, of high-level members of the Government and Opposition, including President Salva Kiir; Riek Machar; Paul Malong, Chief of General Staff of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A) in Opposition; and Akol Koor, Director General for Internal Security.
As such, the experts regarded a general arms embargo as essential for stabilization, he said, adding that lifting it could be tied to progress in implementing the August 2015 Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in the Republic of South Sudan. They recommended that businesses in South Sudan, particularly those in the oil and natural resources sector, should conform with transparency and diligence guidelines set out by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). Further, all humanitarian actors should participate in a surveillance and communication mechanism that would identify those responsible for violations of international human rights law and international humanitarian law.
Also briefing the Council were Festus G. Mogae, Chairperson of the Joint Monitoring and Evaluation Commission; Moustapha Soumaré, Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General for the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS); and Ivan Šimonović, Assistant Secretary-General for Human Rights, who also spoke via video link from Addis Ababa, Juba and Goma, respectively. The presentations complemented the Secretary-General’s report on the situation (document S/2016/138).
“The South Sudanese parties should not believe that they can bypass the Agreement’s commitments,” Mr. Mogae cautioned. “South Sudan’s leaders can, if they wish, act to ameliorate the conditions.” Implementation of the Agreement was lagging “far behind” timetables specified in the accord and subsequent arrangements between the parties. Despite repeated commitments, “parties have consistently demonstrated that there is still much distrust,” he said.
Limited progress, which included adherence to a permanent ceasefire in Greater Upper Nile, had taken place amid increased violence in Western Equatoria and Western Bahr El Ghazal, and recent fighting in Malakal, which had left 18 people dead. The priority was the formation of the Transitional Government of National Unity, expected in November 2015 and subsequently “reset” for 15 December 2015, 15 January 2016, and a further date — all of which had been missed. The Agreement’s “provisions of compromise” were worth implementing, a point the Council must make clear.
Mr. Soumaré expressed grave concern at violence at the Mission’s protection sites in Malakal, condemning any infringement by armed elements on the civilian character of those areas. Security had deteriorated in Western Bahr El Ghazal, especially around Wau, as fighting between SPLM/A and armed groups had led to a steady influx of displaced persons into that area. Intercommunal violence in Jonglei, Warrap and Lakes was also a concern.
In response, UNMISS had adopted a more agile posture to protect civilians, he said, projecting physical presence away from its bases in Bentiu, Bor, Juba, Malakal and Wau through long-duration patrols and temporary operating bases in highly insecure areas, including Leer and Mundri, which, along with the deployment of a company to Yambio, had strengthened the Mission’s presence in Western Equatoria. In Greater Upper Nile, UNMISS would deploy a regular troop presence on the west bank of the Nile, and within Malakal.
Mr. Šimonović decried that parties continued “to attack, kill, abduct, rape, arbitrarily detain and forcefully displace civilians and pillage and destroy their property”. Since August 2015, a “scorched earth strategy” had seen civilians burned alive in their homes, their livestock raided and means of livelihood destroyed. Children’s rights had been violated and sexual violence was rampant. Violence had erupted in previously calmer areas, and armed defence groups had emerged in response to the Government’s highly militarized response. Human rights were under attack throughout South Sudan and the space for freedom of expression and dissent had narrowed considerably.
Joseph Moum Majak Ngor Malok (South Sudan) declared in response to the presentations: “Sanctions will complicate the already complicated situation.” Rather, the focus should be on implementing the peace agreement. The Government was disappointed by plans to impose sanctions in lieu of measures that would encourage cooperation with the international community. He pressed the Council not to adopt the experts’ recommendations, which if adopted, would derail what had been achieved.
He said what was being seen in South Sudan was not a failure of politics or poor leadership, but rather, problems created by climate change. Events in Mundri and Godwe, for example, had resulted from Dinka pastoralists having to find water and healthy grass for their livestock in places mainly inhabited by farmers. Falling global oil prices, a mainstay of the economy, were having an impact as well. In that context, he reiterated South Sudan’s steadfast commitment to implement the peace agreement, noting that demilitarization had been implemented in the capital.
The meeting began at 10:08 a.m. and ended at 11:20 a.m.
