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15 August 2024 (New York) – Creating an enabling environment for South Sudan’s elections is crucial as the country takes steps to implement the 2018 peace agreement, said Nicholas Haysom, head of the United Nations Mission in South Sudan.
Speaking to the Security Council on Wednesday, Haysom acknowledged that the parties would continue discussions to resolve outstanding issues in the implementation of the road map and cited the Toumani Initiative, which involves dialogue between the government and the recalcitrant opposition.
Haysom stressed that while UNMISS encourages a mutually reinforcing approach of the two processes, seeking consensus among all stakeholders, namely formal signatories and non-signatories to the peace agreement, “further clarity is needed on how the Toumani Initiative will integrate with and complement the framework of the revitalized agreement”.
South Sudan is not ready to hold its first post-independence elections in December, he said, adding that consultations made it difficult to isolate the December 22 election date announced by the National Electoral Commission (NEC) last month “from other key factors as a decisive trigger”.
The vote will be South Sudan’s first since it gained independence from Sudan in July 2011.
Haysom, who is also the Secretary-General’s Special Representative, said the mission was not advocating one process or the other as an exclusive model, but rather promoting a constructive integration of the two.
He stressed that both processes must proceed at a deliberate pace to achieve the aspirations of the people of South Sudan, and to that end, UNMISS will continue to support the creation of conditions so that elections can be held in South Sudan “whenever possible”.
At the same time, he noted that sub-national violence continued to undermine the nominal stability achieved so far and expressed concern about deadly clashes in the greater Upper Nile region, which required a strengthened UNMISS presence in Pariang, kidnappings allegedly perpetrated by the National Salvation Front in Central Equatoria State, and inter-communal violence and criminality involving communities in Warrap, Lakes, Unity and Jonglei States.
“South Sudan is facing a perfect storm in terms of the humanitarian and economic outlook,” he warned, adding that the Mission was working closely with the United Nations country team, humanitarian partners and the Government of South Sudan on scenario planning, analysis and mitigation measures for this difficult period ahead.
However, he said “time is running out” and the “cost of inaction at this juncture is too high” and that if the elements of a perfect storm come together it would exceed the UN’s ability to respond and could derail the country’s political transition.
Haysom said the UN mission will continue to support the creation of a favorable environment for elections in South Sudan and focus on fulfilling its responsibilities to help protect civilians.
He said civil society at large, political parties, the Human Rights Commission and the international community have expressed concern about a bill recently passed by South Sudan’s parliament that gives the National Security Service the power to arrest without a warrant.
He said critics of the security bill said it went against South Sudan’s “desire for an open civic and political space” and was inconsistent with the spirit of South Sudan’s transitional constitution and its human rights obligations.
Meanwhile, more than 9 million people in South Sudan, or 76 percent of the country’s population, need humanitarian assistance, and 7.1 million are “severely food insecure, an increase of about 1.5 million people since last year,” said Edem Wosolnu, director of operations for the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
Wosorno said mid-year forecasts by UN food security experts showed that conflict and flooding could lead to famine in some areas between June 2024 and January 2025.
She said South Sudan’s humanitarian plight was exacerbated by a deepening economic crisis.
According to the United Nations, about 25.6 million people in Sudan (more than half of the country’s population) face severe hunger, with more than 755,000 on the brink of famine.
In addition, there are currently approximately 10.7 million people internally displaced in Sudan.
(English stone)
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