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UN / SOUTH SUDAN ELECTIONS
STORY: UN / SOUTH SUDAN ELECTIONS
TRT: 02:59
SOURCE: UNIFEED / UNMISS
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGES: ENGLISH / NATS
DATELINE: 05 MARCH 2024, NEW YORK CITY / FILE
FILE - NEW YORK CITY
1. Wide shot, exterior UN Headquarters
05 MARCH 2024, NEW YORK CITY
2. Wide shot, Security Council
3. Wide shot, delegates
4. SOUNDBITE (English) Jean-Pierre Lacroix, Under-Secretary-General for Peace Operations, United Nations:
“While leaders of SPLM expressed confidence on achieving a critical mass on implementation towards credible elections, SPLM IO, including First Vice-President Machar expressed its doubts and insisted that all prerequisite for elections, particularly the passage of a permanent constitution and completion of the transitional security arrangements, must precede the conduct of the electoral process.”
5. Med shot, delegates
6. SOUNDBITE (English) Jean-Pierre Lacroix, Under-Secretary-General for Peace Operations, United Nations:
“Political competition amongst the ruling elite, increased inter-communal clashes, and the added strain inflicted by the influx of returnees and refugees escaping the conflict in Sudan, have all combined towards an assessment that elections, when held, are going to take place in an environment of elevated tensions and a constrained civic and political space in the country. Therefore, if not managed carefully, they carry the potential for violence, with disastrous consequences for an already fragile country and wider region.”
7. Med shot, delegates
8. SOUNDBITE (English) Jean-Pierre Lacroix, Under-Secretary-General for Peace Operations, United Nations:
“The United Nations cannot opine whether South Sudan should have elections or not but can only assess if the Transitional Government has put in place the requisite architecture for them to be peaceful and credible, and in accordance with the terms of the peace agreement. Failure to do so, not only threatens the desired credibility and peacefulness of elections, but also the overarching framework, the peace agreement itself. As things stand, South Sudan is not ready for elections and a lot needs to be done.”
Med shot, delegates
9. SOUNDBITE (English) Cecilia Adout Majok Adeng, Permanent Representative to the United Nations, South Sudan:
“South Sudan stands at a historical moment once again. By working together, we can transform South Sudan, a land once torn by conflict, into a beacon of hope, resilience and prosperity. Let us reaffirm our commitment to peace and build a brighter future for all South Sudanese. I'm speaking from my own experience, and for that reason, I am not ready to have another generation undergo the same. Enough is enough for South Sudanese have gone through enough struggle, and our leaders are doing their level best with the little experience they have.”
10. Wide shot, end of Council session
FILE - UNMISS - FEBRUARY 2024, JUBA, SOUTH SUDAN
11. Med shot, Lacroix shaking South Sudan President Salva Kiir’s hand
12. Med shot, Lacroix shaking First Vice-President Riek Machar’s hand
13. Various shots, meeting
FEBRUARY 2024, WAU, KUAJOK, SOUTH SUDAN
14. Various shots, Lacroix receiving traditional honours
Peacekeeping Chief Jean-Pierre Lacroix today (5 Mar) told the Security Council that “as things stand, South Sudan is not ready for elections and a lot needs to be done.”
Briefing the Council after a visit to South Sudan in February, Lacroix said, “while leaders of SPLM expressed confidence on achieving a critical mass on implementation towards credible elections, SPLM IO, including First Vice-President Machar expressed its doubts and insisted that all prerequisite for elections, particularly the passage of a permanent constitution and completion of the transitional security arrangements, must precede the conduct of the electoral process.”
In his visit to the country, Lacroix met with both SPLM leader President Salva Kiir and SPLM IO leader, First Vice-President Riek Machar.
Lacroix told the Council that “political competition amongst the ruling elite, increased inter-communal clashes, and the added strain inflicted by the influx of returnees and refugees escaping the conflict in Sudan, have all combined towards an assessment that elections, when held, are going to take place in an environment of elevated tensions and a constrained civic and political space in the country.”
“If not managed carefully,” he said, “they carry the potential for violence, with disastrous consequences for an already fragile country and wider region.”
The United Nations Lacroix continued, “cannot opine whether South Sudan should have elections or not but can only assess if the Transitional Government has put in place the requisite architecture for them to be peaceful and credible, and in accordance with the terms of the peace agreement.”
Failure to do so, he added, “not only threatens the desired credibility and peacefulness of elections, but also the overarching framework, the peace agreement itself.”
For her part, South Sudanese Ambassador Cecilia Adout Majok Adeng said, “South Sudan stands at a historical moment once again. By working together, we can transform South Sudan, a land once torn by conflict, into a beacon of hope, resilience and prosperity. Let us reaffirm our commitment to peace and build a brighter future for all South Sudanese.”
Majok Adeng, who was displaced as a child, said, “I'm speaking from my own experience, and for that reason, I am not ready to have another generation undergo the same. Enough is enough for South Sudanese have gone through enough struggle, and our leaders are doing their level best with the little experience they have.”
During his visit, he engaged with the country’s leaders, state authorities, civil society, United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) peacekeepers, humanitarian partners, and members of the press.
These discussions are held against a complex regional backdrop with ongoing instability in neighbouring Sudan, which has resulted in some 560,000 returnees and refugees entering South Sudan, creating a need for increased humanitarian assistance and raising protection concerns.
Also high on the USG’s agenda – visiting Wau and Kuajok – state capitals where communities Have been impacted not only by new arrivals from Sudan but also cross-border clashes over Abyei.
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