7663rd Security Council Meeting: Sudan and South Sudan

Briefers in Security Council paint mixed picture of South Sudan situation, with transitional government’s formation lagging amid continuing violence at 7663rd meeting.

• Categories: Meetings & Events / Security Council
• Video Length: 00:52:50
• Production Date: 31 March 2016
• Asset Language: Arabic; Chinese; English; French; Russian; Spanish
• Personal Subject: STEPHEN O'BRIEN; FESTUS MOGAE
• Corporate Name: OFFICE FOR THE COORDINATION OF HUMANITARIAN AFFAIRS - OCHA; OFFICE OF THE UNITED NATIONS HIGH COMMISSIONER FOR HUMAN RIGHTS - OHCHR; UNITED NATIONS MISSION IN SOUTH SUDAN – UNMISS
• Subject Topical: TRANSITIONAL JUSTICE; VIOLENCE; HUMANITARIAN AFFAIRS; HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS; ARMED GROUPS
• Geographic Subject: SUDAN; SOUTH SUDAN
• MAMS Id: 1593738
• Parent Id: 1593051

Description

Representative Rejects Killing, Rape, Torture Claims against Government Soldiers

The formation of a transitional Government in South Sudan was moving forward, despite serious security, humanitarian and human rights concerns in the country, the Security Council heard today, as several high-level officials briefed members on the situation there.

Festus G. Mogae, Chairperson of the Joint Monitoring and Evaluation Commission, said the formation of the Transitional Government of National Unity seemed within reach, although implementation of most aspects of the Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in the Republic of South Sudan had been delayed. The first of 1,370 troops of the Sudan People’s Liberation Army/Movement-in-Opposition (SPLA/M—IO) had been returned by United Nations and charter aircraft.

He said flights would continue over the coming week until all 1,370 soldiers had been transported, after which time the First Vice-President-designate, representing the SPLM-IO, would return to Juba, permitting formation of the new Government. Expressing cautious optimism that it would be in place by mid-April, he said that, while that was months behind schedule, it was a vital step forward in the Agreement’s implementation.

Stephen O’Brien, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and United Nations Emergency Relief Coordinator, said: “The hideous facts on the ground are that the humanitarian situation has worsened.” A host of impediments were hampering aid operations, including the refusal of at local actors to respect official assurances by national authorities. Illegal exactions and taxes were rampant, with payments constantly demanded from humanitarian convoys at checkpoints.

Incidents of violence against humanitarian personnel or their assets were ongoing, with 49 humanitarian staff having been killed since December 2013, he continued. Furthermore, there was a critical lack of funding for humanitarian activities, he said, noting that of the $1.3 billion needed to reach more than 5 million people, only 9 per cent had been received from the international community.

On the human rights front, Kate Gilmore, Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights, said violations and abuses against civilians continued unabated. Since December 2013, all parties to the conflict had committed gross human rights violations and abuses, including the killing of civilians, wide-spread sexual violence against women and girls, pillaging and destruction of civilian property. Children as young as nine years old had been forcibly conscripted by both the Government and the opposition, while rape had been common in terrorizing and punishing civilians.

In spite of the repeated public and formal commitments given by the parties to the conflict to end the violence and punish perpetrators, no evidence had been found of any genuine effort by either side to live up to their undertakings, she emphasized. If South Sudan was to realize sustainable peace, security and development, the long-standing and vicious cycle of impunity must be broken, and transitional justice mechanisms established in accordance with international norms and standards, she said.

Ellen Margrethe Løj, Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Head of the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) said continuing clashes between Government forces and armed groups had resulted in civilian deaths, as well as looting and harassment of communities by Government forces. Noting that those conflicts were not new and had erupted out of historic social divisions and competition over limited resources, she said they would probably continue to threaten longer-term peace and stability. Furthermore, dramatic economic deterioration continued to take a heavy toll on citizens and could have security implications.

Joseph Moum Malok (South Sudan) said implementation of the Peace Agreement was progressing well, despite delays in forming the Transitional Government of National Unity. If all went according to plan, the agreed 1,370 members of the SPLA/M-IO forces would be in Juba by the end of this week, paving the way for Riek Machar’s arrival in the capital, he said.

Noting the dire humanitarian situation in the country, he said long periods of drought alternating with heavy rains caused by climate change had also had a devastating effect on South Sudan. However, the Government did not accept allegations of organized and systematic killings, torture and rape by its soldiers and allied militia, as contained in a recently released report from the Human Rights Council.

The meeting began at 10:45 a.m. and ended at 11:36 a.m.