Security Council extends UN mission in South Sudan until May 2015
November 25, 2014 (NEW YORK) – The UN Security Council (UNSC) on Tuesday unanimously renewed the mandate for a 12,500-strong peacekeeping mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) for six months, with a focus on the protection of civilians.
The UN, currently sheltering about 100,000 displaced people at its protection of civilian sites, is also expected to facilitate relief assistance and monitor human rights.
Like it previously did, the Council also authorised UNMISS to use “all necessary means” to protect civilians, monitor and investigate human rights, create conditions for delivery of humanitarian assistance, and support implementation of the ceasefire deal.
The UNSC also requested that UNMISS focus and streamline its activities, across its military, police and civilian components, in order to achieve progress on the above-mentioned tasks, but stressed that certain mission tasks will therefore be ceased.
In its resolution, the UNSC also urged South Sudan authorities and all relevant parties to fully cooperate in UNMISS’ deployment, operations and monitoring, verification and reporting functions.
It stressed that the South Sudanese government should ensure freedom of movement for internally displaced persons, including those leaving and entering protection of civilian sites, and to continue to support UNMISS by allocating land for such sites.
However, the mission will maintain the 1,323 police forces it approved last year after political in-fighting between president Salva Kiir and former vice-president Riek Machar turned into a full-fledged conflict forcing thousands of civilians to flee into UN bases around the country.
ENVOY WELCOMES MANDATE
Francis Deng, the South Sudanese ambassador to the UN welcomed the new mandate, but warned that sanctions against the new nation would worsen the conflict.
“A sustainable solution to the current crisis in South Sudan cannot be achieved by the imposition of sanctions, which is now being talked about,” Deng said on Tuesday.
He appealed to the international community to assist the young nation in efforts to achieve sustainable peace by helping both parties to reach an agreement.
Imposing sanctions on the warring parties would make them confrontational instead of pushing them towards cooperation and peace, Deng told the UN Security Council.
Tens of thousands of people have been killed and millions displaced in the country’s nearly one year conflict, with aid agencies anticipating possible outbreak of famine.
(ST)