US senators urge Trump Administration to appoint Special Envoy for South Sudan
Nov 20th, 2019 (SSNN)-The US senators in a letter addressed to the United States Secretary of State-U.S. Department of State, the Honorable Michael R. Pompeo- have urged the Trump administration to appoint a high-level Special Envoy for South Sudan.
U.S President Donald J. Trump (Photo: supplied)
“Dear Secretary Pompeo, on November 7, 2019, South Sudan’s rival parties led by President Salva Kiir and Riek Machar agreed to extend the November 12th deadline to form a unified transitional government by an additional 100 days. This marks the second extension of the pre-transitional period agreed to under the September 2018 revitalized peace agreement.”
“A Special Envoy is needed to engage the region and help coordinate Western partners in pressing both parties to forge a viable path forward over the next three months and beyond.”
The US parliamentarians welcomed recent sanctions imposed by the US on South Sudan’s officials and their associates
“We support recent efforts taken by the U.S. Department of the Treasury to sanction South Sudanese elites and corrupt government officials that have profited from the ongoing conflict, and believe that a Special Envoy could provide needed assistance in advancing these efforts through authorities granted under the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act or Executive Order 13664. This Envoy should also be charged with implementing a robust diplomatic strategy in coordination with like-minded international partners to prevent renewed violence, encourage a sustainable political settlement, and facilitate the accountability of human rights abuses and corruption in South Sudan,” the statement further added.
The senators expressed deep frustration at the delay in the progress made in the implementation of the peace agreement, stressing that the people of South Sudan have suffered for a long time because of the conflict and therefore they deserve to have peace.
“While we support the need for additional dialogue to resolve the outstanding political and security issues necessary to create a viable transitional government, we share deep frustration with the lack of progress made thus far. The people of South Sudan continue to suffer, despite the over $4.5 billion in U.S. humanitarian aid provided since the conflict began,” the letter written by the US senators partly reads.
Adding that, “Perpetual delays in the peace process cannot continue. We therefore, ask you to utilize this opportunity and appoint a high-level Special Envoy for South Sudan in order to bring urgently needed diplomatic leadership to international efforts to mediate the ongoing political conflict and stop the humanitarian crisis in the world’ s newest country from deteriorating further.”
South Sudan descended into civil war in December 2013, and the conflict has so far killed 400,000 and almost two million have been internally displaced, and over two million have fled the country.
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