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STORY: SOUTH SUDAN / NAVI PILLAY PRESSER
TRT: 3.30
SOURCE: UNMISS
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS
DATELINE: 30 APRIL 2014 JUBA, SOUTH SUDAN
30 APRIL 2014, JUBA, SOUTH SUDAN
1. Wide shot, press room
2. SOUNDBITE (English), Navi Pillay, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights:
“The deadly mix of recrimination, hate speech, and revenge killings that has developed relentlessly over the past four and a half months seems to be reaching boiling point, and I have been increasingly concerned that neither South Sudan’s political leaders nor the international community at large seem to perceive quite how dangerous the situation now is. Unfortunately virtually everything I have seen or heard on this mission has reinforced the view that the country’s leaders, instead of seizing their chance to steer their impoverished and war-battered young nation to stability and greater prosperity, have instead embarked on a personal power struggle that has brought their people to the verge of catastrophe.”
3. Medium shot, journalists and officials at press briefing
4. SOUNDBITE (English), Navi Pillay, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights:
“Current and future investigations will inevitably examine the extent to which political and military leaders either knew, should have known, or failed to take all necessary and reasonable measures to prevent war crimes and crimes against humanity committed by themselves or by subordinates under their effective authority and control.”
5. Cutaway, journalists
6. SOUNDBITE (English): Navi Pillay, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights:
“The conflict has meant that this planting season will almost certainly be missed with devastating results on the country’s food supplies. If famine does take hold later in the year – and the humanitarian agencies are deeply fearful that it will – responsibility for it will lie squarely with the country’s leaders who agreed to a cessation of hostilities in January and then failed to observe it themselves, while placing all the blame on each other.”
7. Cutaway, journalists
8. SOUNDBITE (English), Navi Pillay, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights:
“If, in the very near future, there is no peace deal, no accountability, no space to rebuild trust and promote reconciliation, and insufficient funds to cope with a looming humanitarian disaster, I shudder to think where South Sudan is heading. After so many decades of conflict and economic neglect, the South Sudanese deserve better than this, especially from their own leaders.”
9. Cutaway, journalists
10. SOUNDBITE (English), Adama Dieng, the UN Secretary-General’s Special Adviser for the Prevention of Genocide:
“There can be no peace without justice. And the current culture of impunity will only serve to undermine our efforts. We have learned this hard way, from events in Rwanda. To the survivors of the genocide we owe a pledge to take all possible measures in our power to protect the population from another Rwanda. There is no excuse for inaction.”
11. Wide shot, journalists leaving table
Speaking to journalists in South Sudan’s capital Juba, the United Nation’s High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay said it is of grave concern that neither South Sudan’s political leaders nor the international community seem to perceive how dangerous the current situation in the country is, as the deadly mix of recrimination, hate speech and killings have seem to be reaching boiling point.
“Unfortunately virtually everything I have seen or heard on this mission has reinforced the view that the country’s leaders, instead of seizing their chance to steer their impoverished and war-battered young nation to stability and greater prosperity, have instead embarked on a personal power struggle that has brought their people to the verge of catastrophe.” – said Pillay.
High Commissioner Navi Pillay said she was greatly saddened that her second visit to the country was the result of a drastic deterioration of the situation, with a full-blown internal conflict currently taking place, accompanied by numerous grave human rights violations.
Ms. Pillay, who met with both President Salva Kiir and opposition leader Riek Machar during her two-day visit, said both sides have assured her and the UN Special Envoy for the Prevention of Genocide, Adama Dieng, that they are carrying out investigations into killings of civilians.
“Current and future investigations will inevitably examine the extent to which political and military leaders either knew, should have known, or failed to take all necessary and reasonable measures to prevent war crimes and crimes against humanity committed by themselves or by subordinates under their effective authority and control.” – added Pillay.
She said that the legacy of impunity is one of the factors behind the current tragedy, and said that it is vital to ensure that mistakes of the past are not repeated in order to promote sustainable peace.
The High Commissioner said that if famine takes hold in South Sudan, the leaders who agreed to a cessation of hostilities and then failed to observe it would be responsible. She said she is appalled by the “lukewarm” reactions of both leaders to a call for a month-long truce to allow people to go home to plant.
“The conflict has meant that this planting season will almost certainly be missed with devastating results on the country’s food supplies. If famine does take hold later in the year – and the humanitarian agencies are deeply fearful that it will – responsibility for it will lie squarely with the country’s leaders who agreed to a cessation of hostilities in January and then failed to observe it themselves, while placing all the blame on each other.” – said Pillay.
Pillay noted that long-suffering South Sudanese citizens deserved better, not only from their leaders, but also from the international community, which she said has been slow to act. As an example of such slowness, she cited the fact that since the Security Council approved an increase of UNMISS peacekeepers to 12,500, contributing countries have still only supplied one third of the desperately needed troops.
“If, in the very near future, there is no peace deal, no accountability, no space to rebuild trust and promote reconciliation, and insufficient funds to cope with a looming humanitarian disaster, I shudder to think where South Sudan is heading. After so many decades of conflict and economic neglect, the South Sudanese deserve better than this, especially from their own leaders.” – she added.
Adama Dieng, the UN Secretary-General’s Special Adviser for the Prevention of Genocide, said that the world cannot allow another Rwanda to happen.
“There can be no peace without justice. And the current culture of impunity will only serve to undermine our efforts. We have learned this hard way, from events in Rwanda. To the survivors of the genocide we owe a pledge to take all possible measures in our power to protect the population from another Rwanda. There is no excuse for inaction.” – said Adama.
The High Commissioner also urged donor countries to respond quickly to an appeal for funding for humanitarian action, and to lend “their full political weight to the peace effort”.
