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STORY: UN / SOUTH SUDAN
TRT: 02:53
SOURCE: UNIFEED
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS
DATELINE: 15 SEPTEMBER 2021, NEW YORK CITY / FILE
FILE – NEW YORK CITY
1. Wide shot, exterior United Nations Headquarters
15 SEPTEMBER 2021, NEW YORK CITY
2. Wide shot, Security Council
3. Wide shot, Security Council dais
4. SOUNDBITE (English) Nicholas Haysom, Special Representative of the Secretary-General for South Sudan and Head of the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS):
“President Kiir has himself recently acknowledged that an open and fair election is critical for South Sudan to proceed along its transition. He has emphasised that its preparation needs an early start. There is no consensus on the exact timelines. Relying on the two extensions to the transitional period, the most generous interpretation would see elections in early 2023. This would require the completion of a voters roll by late mid to late next year. Unless there are adequate technical and political preparations, this event could be catastrophic instead of a national turning point.”
5. Med shot, Council President
6. SOUNDBITE (English) Nicholas Haysom, Special Representative of the Secretary-General for South Sudan and Head of the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS):
“The electoral process can only be guaranteed by impartial, unified security apparatus. The lack of progress in the implementation of the transitional security arrangements is now a major challenge. We commend the efforts of IGAD and R-JMEC to encourage the parties to reach consensus on the unified command-and-control structures of the new national security institutions. President Kiir has himself assured that this will be agreed imminently, as will the graduation of uniformed personnel currently stationed in training centres.”
7. Med shot, Mexico Ambassador
8. SOUNDBITE (English) Reena Ghelani, Director for Operations and Advocacy, United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA):
“People in South Sudan currently face the highest levels of food insecurity recorded since independence. As the SRSG said, over 60 percent of the population are severely food insecure. The combined effects of conflict, climate shocks, displacement, the socio-economic impact of COVID-19, and the lack of investments in infrastructure and basic services, have driven people deep into need. More than 8.3 million people currently need humanitarian assistance, including 1.4 million children.”
9. Wide shot, Council
10. SOUNDBITE (English) Akuei Bona Malwal, Permanent Representative to the United Nations, South Sudan:
“Many challenges still remain, and the parties to the agreement intend to overcome these challenges. However, we know these challenges would be overcome faster and sooner with the encouragement of the international community. We are hopeful that the international community will double its efforts and commitment to the people of South Sudan to overcome these challenges.”
11. Wide shot, Council
The Special Representative of the Secretary-General for South Sudan, Nicholas Haysom, today (15 Sep) told the Security Council that “unless there are adequate technical and political preparations” that elections expected to take place in 2023 “could be catastrophic instead of a national turning point.”
Haysom, who is also the Head of the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) said South Sudanese President Salva Kiir “has himself recently acknowledged that an open and fair election is critical for South Sudan to proceed along its transition” and that “its preparation needs an early start.”
Briefing remotely from Juba, Haysom said, “the electoral process can only be guaranteed by impartial, unified security apparatus,” adding that “the lack of progress in the implementation of the transitional security arrangements is now a major challenge.”
He said President Kiir has made assurances that “this will be agreed imminently, as will the graduation of uniformed personnel currently stationed in training centres.”
The Director for Operations and Advocacy at the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA), Reena Ghelani, said, “people in South Sudan currently face the highest levels of food insecurity recorded since independence.”
Ghelani, said “over 60 percent of the population are severely food insecure. The combined effects of conflict, climate shocks, displacement, the socio-economic impact of COVID-19, and the lack of investments in infrastructure and basic services, have driven people deep into need. More than 8.3 million people currently need humanitarian assistance, including 1.4 million children.”
For his part, South Sudanese Ambassador Akuei Bona Malwal said, “many challenges still remain, and the parties to the agreement intend to overcome these challenges. However, we know these challenges would be overcome faster and sooner with the encouragement of the international community. We are hopeful that the international community will double its efforts and commitment to the people of South Sudan to overcome these challenges.”
On 12 September 2021, South Sudan marked the three-year anniversary of the signing of the revitalized peace agreement, which provides a broadly agreed framework for long-term stability and durable peace in South Sudan.
