UN / SOUTH SUDAN

The Assistant Secretary-General for Africa Martha Ama Akyaa Pobee told the Security Council that there has been “a continued erosion of the gains previously made in the peace process” in South Sudan, including “an escalation of political and subnational violence and stagnation in the implementation of the Peace Agreement.” UNIFEED

• Video Length: 00:03:54
• Production Date: 18 August 2025
• Asset Language: English
• Personal Subject: MARTHA AMA AKYAA POBEE; JOHN AGGREY
• Corporate Name: UNITED NATIONS MISSION IN SOUTH SUDAN – UNMISS; SECURITY COUNCIL
• Subject Topical: SOUTH SUDAN SITUATION; SUDAN SITUATION
• Geographic Subject: SUDAN; SOUTH SUDAN
• MAMS Id: 3437396
• Parent Id: 3437079
• Alternate Title: unifeed250818b

Description

STORY: UN / SOUTH SUDAN
TRT: 03:47
SOURCE: UNIFEED
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGES: ENGLISH / NATS

DATELINE: 18 AUGUST 2025, NEW YORK CITY / FILE

Shotlist

FILE - NEW YORK CITY

1. Wide shot, exterior United Nations Headquarters

18 AUGUST 2025, NEW YORK CITY

2. Wide shot, Security Council
3. Wide shot, Assistant Secretary-General for Africa Martha Ama Akyaa Pobee
4. SOUNDBITE (English) Martha Ama Akyaa Pobee, Assistant Secretary-General for Africa in the
Departments of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs and Peace Operations:
“There has been a continued erosion of the gains previously made in the peace process, including of the trust and confidence built among the parties to the Revitalized Peace Agreement. There has been an escalation of political and subnational violence and stagnation in the implementation of the Peace Agreement.”
5. Med shot, South Sudan’s Ambassador Sabino Edward Nyawella Amaikwey
6. SOUNDBITE (English) Martha Ama Akyaa Pobee, Assistant Secretary-General for Africa in the
Departments of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs and Peace Operations:
“The international community, including the United Nations, African Union and the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), have repeatedly called for a cessation of hostilities, de-escalation and return to dialogue. These calls, however, have not yielded any concrete response. Instead, a pattern of violations and unilateral actions persists, which continues to undermine the ability of the Government of national unity to implement the Agreement.”
7. Wide shot, Council
8. SOUNDBITE (English) Martha Ama Akyaa Pobee, Assistant Secretary-General for Africa in the
Departments of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs and Peace Operations:
“If this trend continues, it will likely lead to a shift in conflict dynamics, from subnational and community-based violence to a more complex landscape shaped by ethnic divisions involving signatory parties and other actors, including those from neighbouring countries.”
9. Wide shot, Council
10. SOUNDBITE (English) Martha Ama Akyaa Pobee, Assistant Secretary-General for Africa in the
Departments of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs and Peace Operations:
“We call on the parties to unblock the current political deadlock by fully recommitting to the Cessation of Hostilities Agreement, releasing the political detainees, engaging in direct high-level dialogue, and recommit implementing an inclusive peace process, particularly on key issues such as transitional security arrangements, transitional justice, constitution-making, and elections.”
10. Wide shot, Council, RJMEC Interim Chairperson George Aggrey Owinow on screen
11. SOUNDBITE (English) George Aggrey Owinow, Interim Chairperson of the Reconstituted Joint
Monitoring and Evaluation Commission (RJMEC):
“The current situation and trajectory of the country, if not urgently addressed, risks to reverse all that has been gained and may lead to a collapse of the R-ARCSS which could return the country back to an armed conflict. RJMEC and its partners, the African Union Mission in South Sudan, the Intergovernmental Authority on Development, IGAD, and the United Nations Mission in South Sudan, UNMISS, have repeatedly called for constructive dialog, de-escalation of tensions, addressed the issues of detainees and returned to full and implementation of the R-ARCSS.”
12. Med shot, Pobee
13. Wide shot, Nyawella Amaikwey addressing Council
14. SOUNDBITE (English) Sabino Edward Nyawella Amaikwey, Deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations, South Sudan:
“South Sudan remains committed to ensuring that any obstacles - real or perceived - to and UNMISS operations are addressed in good faith and without delay. We confirmed that presence of any such situations could either be attributed to our efforts to ensuring safety of the mission's assets and or personnel, or they are merely due to lack of information sharing, or the capacity of the individuals involved. It is never a policy of the government of the Republic of South Sudan to hinder UNMISS mandate.”
15. Wide shot, end of Council session

Storyline

The Assistant Secretary-General for Africa Martha Ama Akyaa Pobee today (18 Aug) told the Security Council that there has been “a continued erosion of the gains previously made in the peace process” in South Sudan, including “an escalation of political and subnational violence and stagnation in the implementation of the Peace Agreement.”

Pobee said the international community has “repeatedly called for a cessation of hostilities, de-escalation and return to dialogue. However, she added, they “have not yielded any concrete response” and instead, “a pattern of violations and unilateral actions persists, which continues to undermine the ability of the Government of national unity to implement the Agreement.”

If this trend continues, she said, “it will likely lead to a shift in conflict dynamics, from subnational and community-based violence to a more complex landscape shaped by ethnic divisions involving signatory parties and other actors, including those from neighbouring countries.”

Pobee called on the parties “to unblock the current political deadlock by fully recommitting to the Cessation of Hostilities Agreement, releasing the political detainees, engaging in direct high-level dialogue, and recommit implementing an inclusive peace process, particularly on key issues such as transitional security arrangements, transitional justice, constitution-making, and elections.”

The Interim Chairperson of the Reconstituted Joint Monitoring and Evaluation Commission (RJMEC) George Aggrey Owinow, briefing remotely from Juba, said, “the current situation and trajectory of the country, if not urgently addressed, risks to reverse all that has been gained and may lead to a collapse” of the peace agreement, “which could return the country back to an armed conflict.”

The RJMEC and its partners, Aggrey Owinow said, “have repeatedly called for constructive dialog, de-escalation of tensions, addressed the issues of detainees and returned to full and implementation” of the agreement.

For his part, South Sudan’s Ambassador Sabino Edward Nyawella Amaikweytold the Council that “South Sudan remains committed to ensuring that any obstacles - real or perceived - to and UNMISS operations are addressed in good faith and without delay.”

Nyawella Amaikweytold confirmed that “any such situations could either be attributed to our efforts to ensuring safety of the mission's assets and or personnel, or they are merely due to lack of information sharing, or the capacity of the individuals involved. It is never a policy of the government of the Republic of South Sudan to hinder UNMISS mandate.”

The Agreement on the Roadmap to a Peaceful and Democratic End of the Transitional Period of the Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in the Republic of South Sudan (R-ARCSS) was concluded and signed on 12 September 2018 and was scheduled to end after a period of 44 months.