UNSC calls for timely formation of S. Sudan’s unity government

October 8, 2019 (NEW YORK) – The parties to the revitalized peace agreement in South Sudan should continue to meet regularly to resolve outstanding substantive issues needed for formation of a transitional national unity government, the UN Security Council said.

The Council’s president, in a statement, said the agreement signed in September last year, is a major step forward in the peace process and offers real hope for peace and stability in the young nation.

It further stressed that political violence in the country has decreased some representatives of opposition parties have returned to Juba.

“The Council welcomes the early progress made in the implementation of the revitalized Agreement, including the establishment of some of the mechanisms and institutions foreseen in the Agreement, joint peace-building activities at the local level and the establishment of more favourable conditions for rerouting humanitarian aid in many areas,” noted the Council’s statement.

Meanwhile, the Council urged the parties to the revitalized accord to accelerate the implementation of transitional security arrangements and to continue consultations on the issue of the number of states and their borders with a view of finding a common solution.

It further urged South Sudan government to pay the remaining funds it has committed to disbursement to implement the revitalized peace agreement in a transparent and accountable manner.

The Council, however, calls on parties not signatory to the revitalized agreement to renounce all violence, adhere to the cessation of hostilities agreements and to seek to resolve through political means the points of the revitalized agreement they consider problematic.

The UN body also requested the parties to the revitalized peace agreement to engage with the non-signatories in a constructive spirit and without resorting to violence.

South Sudan descended into war in December 2013 when President Salva Kiir accused his former deputy Riek Machar of plotting a coup, allegations the latter dismissed.

In September 2018, the rival factions involved in the conflict signed a peace deal to end the conflict that has killed tens of thousands of people and displaced over 2 million people in the country.

(ST)