UNMISS Chief calls on South Sudan’s leaders to give peace a chance
South Sudan’s President Salva Kiir Mayardit, Chairman of the SPLM-IO, Dr. Riek Machar Teny meeting at the State House in Juba (Photo credit: Supplied)
Nov 15th, 2019 (SSNN) —The Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General, David Shearer, during a press conference on Thursday before the African Union Peace and Security Council on the situation in South Sudan, urged South Sudanese leaders to put an immediate end to the conflict that has claimed more than 400,000 lives and forced million from their homes.
“The mood in Juba is relief that the existing ceasefire will be preserved. However, civil society representatives have also told me that there is a sense of disappointment and some anger that leaders failed to reach the point where a transitional government could be formed. The citizens of South Sudan have high expectations that peace will be realized,” said UNMISS Chief David Shearer.
The UN official called on South Sudanese leaders on all sides to strictly abide by the cessation of hostilities agreement that has been in place since last year.
“The ceasefire came about because the leaders said to stop fighting. The responsibility for its continuation also, therefore, lies with them.
I therefore urge all the parties to publicly recommit to maintaining the ceasefire to give people the confidence they need to get on with their lives.” David Shearer continued.
One hundred days is not long.
The UN official reminded the South Sudanese that hundred days are not long enough and therefore they should focus their energeies on areas where special attention is urgently needed.
“I would like to touch very briefly on key issues where particular attention is needed,” the UN official urged.
The reunification of forces.
Mr. Shearer further questioned if the reunification of forces will be completed within hundred days. He said although the unification will not be completed, there should be guarantees in place after the hundreds days are completed to give hopes that the rest shall be done after the RTGNU is formed.
“Will we have a fully integrated military with a completed DDR exercise at the end of 100 days? No. But the implementation process should be advanced sufficiently to give all parties trust and confidence coming into a transitional government that it is well on track and will continue to progress- with realistic / measurable benchmarks.” Shearer said.
States and boundaries.
On states and boundaries, Sheared said the parties will need to negotiate and reach political settlements adding that such processes need mechanisms and leaders tom compromise and work together.
“This issue requires negotiation and a political settlement. It also requires a defined process and mechanism to move forward in a structured way. The leaders need to work urgently to reach a compromise.” Shearer stated,
Resources for implementing the peace agreement.
On resource disbursement, Shearer believe that much less money than discussed in the media has been released.
“This is the issue that people are talking about most. We continue to hear different figures about how much funding has been disbursed. The NPTC has talked about $44 million while the President said in a recent speech that it was $33 million. Reports from security mechanisms themselves suggest it is considerably less.” He said.
The rival leaders, Kiir and Machar, agreed to extension the pre-transitional period by hundred days, however, there are doubts if the leaders will commit to the new terms to ensure that the outstanding provisions are completed on time.
Facebook Comments