S. Sudan VP reaffirms commitment to implement peace deal
October 1, 2015 (NEW YORK) – The South Sudanese vice president James Wani Igga has assured told the United Nations that his country was fully committed to implement the peace accord signed by government, the armed opposition and other political entities.
“The people of South Sudan were yearning for peace and our President took the courageous step with the help of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), and others…to sign on 26 August 2015 a Peace Agreement with the rebel leadership to silence the guns and end the war,” Igga told the Assembly Wednesday.
He also reminded delegates of his government commitment to the accord, citing the immediate declaration by President Salva Kiir of a permanent ceasefire in late August.
Igga, said the agreed ceasefire was presently holding only in some parts of the country, due to the absence of a Joint Monitoring and Verification Mechanism on ground.
The South Sudanese government, he said, has instituted a number of investigations on reports of human rights abuses by elements associated with its security institutions.
“Committing crimes against the people we govern, or violation of human rights, has never and shall never be condoned by our Government. Promoting and protecting the safety of persons, family and community and their physical and social wellbeing is a duty that we take more seriously. We will not allow impunity to reign,” he observed.
Igga also appealed to the UN to lift sanctions and travel restrictions on South Sudanese officials said to have obstructed peaceful efforts to end the country’s violent conflict.
“More than any other time in our conflict riddled history, the upcoming post-conflict imperatives of resettlement, rehabilitation, and disarmament require concerted financial and technical intervention from our many good friends around the world,” he said.
“South Sudan is very resilient and its future is certainly full of hope particularly with all your assistance and cooperation, but it should not be subjected to undeserved isolation and sanctions, given its level of fragility as a new country,” added the vice president.
President Kiir, who had earlier addressed the Assembly on a video link from the South Sudanese capital, accused the armed opposition of violating the ceasefire agreed upon shortly after the peace deal mediated by regional and international actors was signed.
(ST)