8249th Security Council Meeting: Reports of Secretary-General on Sudan and South Sudan

Ceasefire in South Sudan ‘a distant prospect’, peacekeeping chief tells Security Council, citing disagreements among warring parties at 8249th meeting.

• Categories: Meetings & Events / Security Council
• Video Length: 01:03:54
• Production Date: 8 May 2018
• Asset Language: Arabic; Chinese; English; French; Russian; Spanish
• Personal Subject: JEAN-PIERRE LACROIX
• Corporate Name: AFRICAN UNION - AU; INTERGOVERNMENTAL AUTHORITY ON DEVELOPMENT - IGAD; UNITED NATIONS MISSION IN SOUTH SUDAN – UNMISS
• Subject Topical: ARMED CONFLICTS; CEASEFIRES; CHILDREN IN ARMED CONFLICTS; ELECTIONS; PEACEKEEPING OPERATIONS; SANCTIONS; SEXUAL VIOLENCE
• Geographic Subject: SOUTH SUDAN
• MAMS Id: 2146940
• Parent Id: 2146255

Description

The cessation of hostilities in South Sudan, agreed in 2017, showed no sign of implementation, the Under‑Secretary‑General for Peacekeeping Operations told the Security Council today, saying a ceasefire was “a distant prospect” amid disagreements over its modalities and wider transitional security arrangements.

In his briefing — one of four delivered this afternoon — Jean‑Pierre Lacroix said the parties continued to argue over ministerial quotas in any revised transitional governing arrangement. While President Salva Kiir had pledged to take part in the High‑level Revitalization Forum to resolve the conflict, rhetoric was increasing around extending the Transitional Government of National Unity mandate, as well as preparations for elections, should the Forum not yield an “acceptable” solution.

However, the holding of elections was unrealistic as the Government and Opposition were bent on armed confrontation, he said. “Without consequences, we have no one to blame but ourselves.” The Security Council must use its voice to dispel an unhealthy narrative of regime change that some sought to use against the United Nations in a bid to win popular support.

Ismail Wais, Special Envoy for South Sudan of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), said that since April, the Authority had engaged stakeholders and held a “fruitful” discussion with the President. Speaking via videoconference from Addis Ababa, he urged the Council to continue to support IGAD’s work and that of the African Union, whenever they took measures against violators of the peace process.

Jackline Nasiwa, of the Centre for Inclusive Governance, Peace and Justice, said any hope for unity in South Sudan had been shattered by political infighting. Women had suffered sexual abuse, while children were recruited to fight in a senseless war. She pressed the Council to provide women leaders and civil society groups with funding and the capacity to build a gender‑inclusive political process. “The people are tired,” she said. “Peace now.”

In that context, Council President Joanna Wronecka (Poland), speaking in her capacity as Chair of the Security Council Committee established pursuant to resolution 2206 (2015) concerning South Sudan, drew attention to the 2015 recommendation by the Panel of Experts that the Council impose an arms embargo on South Sudan.

Responding to that proposal, South Sudan’s delegate described the report as biased against his country’s Government, saying it relied on interviews with Opposition members in Nairobi and Kampala. Senior Government officials were described repeatedly as hardliners and painted as obstacles to peace in order to lay the ground for international sanctions. While South Sudan was committed to cooperation with the Panel, it called for one that would report credible and balanced findings.

Also speaking today were representatives of Côte d’Ivoire, Bolivia and Equatorial Guinea.

The meeting began at 3:04 p.m. and ended at 4:09 p.m.