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8115th Security Council Meeting: Reports of Secretary-General on Sudan and South Sudan
Despite assurances from the Government of South Sudan, violence and governmental restrictions continued to prevent peacekeepers and humanitarian workers from fulfilling their respective mandates to protect civilians and deliver aid to those badly in need of it, the Assistant Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations told the Security Council today.
Briefing the Council on the Secretary-General’s 30‑day report relating to South Sudan, Bintou Keita said those obstacles to the free movement of the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) were being erected against a backdrop of a continuously dire humanitarian situation, she said, noting that 4 million people had been displaced and 6 million faced food insecurity, including 1.7 million living on the brink of famine. While President Salva Kiir had issued a new order on 9 November, calling for unhindered humanitarian access, a genuine and concerted effort must ensure that the decree trickled down to levels on the ground where obstructions frequently occurred.
To address those concerns, she asked the Council to urge the Government to end the restrictions and adhere to its obligations to the status‑of‑forces agreement. She expressed concern about the Government’s push to assert military dominance across the country, notably when faced with continued resistance by armed opposition groups. “New military offensives would seriously undermine the political process and cause further civilian casualties and displacements,” she stressed.
Providing updates on other developments, she said the Intergovernmental Authority for Development (IGAD) Regional Protection Force was getting ready for deployment. On the political front, opposition forces had agreed to participate in the high-level revitalization forum. While all groups consulted so far appeared to have stated their full and unconditional support for the IGAD initiative, they had also raised a number of questions to influence the forum’s outcome in their favour, which may make for arduous discussions.
When the floor opened, Council members shared concerns about the fragile security and humanitarian situation. Sweden’s representative, expressing alarm that civilians were caught up in a seemingly endless nightmare of conflict, displacement and hunger, called for an immediate cessation of hostilities by the Government and armed groups. “Time is running out for millions of South Sudanese,” he said, cautioning that every day that the conflict continued made peacebuilding and reconciliation more difficult.
Many delegates voiced support for IGAD efforts, with Ethiopia’s representative noting that his country’s battalion would soon be ready for deployment in the Regional Protection Force. Welcoming President Kiir’s decree ordering the free movement of humanitarian organizations, he said implementing it would facilitate the delivery of assistance to affected populations.
Expressing a different view, the delegate of the United States emphasized that words were not enough and that the Government bore the responsibility to end the ongoing violence. Given that reports had shown that South Sudan armed forces were in fact impeding humanitarian efforts, the United States was prepared to pursue additional measures if the Government failed to pursue the peace process and continued to harass humanitarian organizations.
However, the representative of the Russian Federation said it was unjust to place all blame for the state of affairs on Juba alone. The Government had played its role and the opposition must reciprocate and adopt a more constructive position. Moreover, it was counterproductive to impose sanctions or an arms embargo because such measures would not help break the deadlock and would only exacerbate the crisis, he said.
Also speaking today were the representatives of Japan, United Kingdom, Bolivia, Uruguay, France, Egypt, Senegal, China, Kazakhstan, Ukraine and Italy.
The meeting began at 11:06 a.m. and ended at 12:32 p.m.
