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SOUTH SUDAN/ SOFA AGREEMENT
STORY: SOUTH SUDAN/ SOFA AGREEMENT
TRT: 2.30
SOURCE: UNMISS
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH/ NATS
DATELINE: 8 AUGUST 2011, JUBA, SOUTH SUDAN
1. Wide shot, conference hall at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
2. Med shot, South Sudan Foreign Affairs Minister Deng Alor and UNMISS Special Representative of the Secretary General Hilde Johnson
3. Med shot, signing of the Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA)
4. Close up, Alor signing
5. Med shot, Johnson signing
6. Close up, Johnson signing
7. SOUNDBITE (English) Hilde Johnson, Special Representative of the Secretary General and Head of the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS):
“The agreement commits UNMISS to work with impartiality and integrity in fulfilling our mandate as envisioned in the Security Council Resolution and it also commits us to ensuring that our personnel will fully respect all laws and regulations of South Sudan.”
8. SOUNDBITE (English) Deng Alor, South Sudan Foreign Affairs Minister:
"I am very satisfied that this agreement is signed today and we are going to start now, as from today, with the United Nations so that we cooperate and so that they deliver and we also deliver, it is a mutual thing. The agreement is for both of us and particularly it’s for the people of the republic of South Sudan."
9. Med shot, officials at the signing
10. Med shot, signed documents being exchanged
11. Wide shot, officials standing and clapping
12. SOUNDBITE (English) Hilde Johnson, Special Representative of the Secretary General and Head of the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS):
“This Status of Forces Agreement has very important provisions that lies the foundation for our cooperation with the new government and the new republic. One the one hand the South Sudan government has committed itself to protect UN Personnel, grant its immunities and privileges and ensure that its security is in place. On our side in the UN mission we are also obliged to follow international conventions, make sure that we abide and all our personnel abide with the laws and the regulations of South Sudan.”
13. SOUNDBITE (English) General Moses Obi, United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) Force Commander:
“On the part of the military we’ve has some troops on ground that have been absorbed into the new mission, so we are able to start right away even though we are still building our capacity. We have started with our patrolling; we are doing everything to ensure that we work with the government and the security agencies on the ground to ensure stability and security of the land to allow for development.”
14. Wide shot, Obi interacting with journalists.
The new government of the Republic of South Sudan and the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) have signed the Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA), a month after the country became an independent state.
The signing, which took place at the ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation in the nation’s capital Juba, is the key instrument and the legal framework that allows the UN to operate within South Sudan.
When South Sudan gained its independence on 9 July a new United Nations Mission was formed with the mandate to support the new republic consolidate peace and security, help establish conditions for development and strengthen the capacity of the government.
Hidle Johnson, the head of the mission, thanked the government for their cooperation and was pleased that the process smooth and without difficulty.
SOUNDBITE (English) Hilde Johnson, Special Representative of the Secretary General and Head of the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS):
“The agreement commits UNMISS to work with impartiality and integrity in fulfilling our mandate as envisioned in the Security Council Resolution and it also commits us to ensuring that our personnel will fully respect all laws and regulations of South Sudan.”
South Sudan’s Foreign Minister, Deng Alor assured the Representative of the Secretary General of his nation’s commitment to the agreement for the interest of the people of South Sudan.
SOUNDBITE (English) Deng Alor, South Sudan Foreign Affairs Minister:
"I am very satisfied that this agreement is signed today and we are going to start now, as from today, with the United Nations so that we cooperate and so that they deliver and we also deliver, it is a mutual thing. The agreement is for both of us and particularly it’s for the people of the republic of South Sudan."
The previous UN mission in Sudan was set up as a result of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement in 2005 that ended decades of war between the north and southern Sudan and provided for a referendum in which southern Sudanese voted to become an independent state.
The new mission in South Sudan allows for the 7,900 military and civilian personnel.
SOUNDBITE (English) Hilde Johnson, Special Representative of the Secretary General and Head of the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS):
“This Status of Forces Agreement has very important provisions that lies the foundation for our cooperation with the new government and the new republic. One the one hand the South Sudan government has committed itself to protect UN Personnel, grant its immunities and privileges and ensure that its security is in place. On our side in the UN mission we are also obliged to follow international conventions, make sure that we abide and all our personnel abide with the laws and the regulations of South Sudan.”
The military component of the mission under the leadership of Force Commander Major General Moses Obi, says his men are already on the ground and will do all they can to work with the security organs of the south Sudan in providing security.
SOUNDBITE (English) General Moses Obi, United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) Force Commander:
“On the part of the military we’ve has some troops on ground that have been absorbed into the new mission, so we are able to start right away even though we are still building our capacity. We have started with our patrolling; we are doing everything to ensure that we work with the government and the security agencies on the ground to ensure stability and security of the land to allow for development.”
The United Nations Mission in South Sudan was formed and adopted under the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1996.
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