S. Sudan’s prospect for peace bright, says top UN official
July 16, 2015 (JUBA) – The outlook for attaining peace is South Sudan is not bleak, but the warring parties need to fully commit to the peace talks, a United Nations official said.
“I would not say that the picture and the outlook are completely bleak because over the four months I have been here, I have had several contacts at the highest level with Government ministers [and] what I have heard, most of the time is ‘we want peace now, we want peace to happen’,” said Soumare.
“So I think it is important that we use this “we want peace now”, so that this phrase becomes a reality,” he added.
Thousands have been killed since the conflict started in December 2013 and millions others displaced from their homes. UNMISS is hosting over 160,000 people at the Protection of civilians sites (PoC) mainly in Juba, Bor, Malakal and Bentiu.
The UN Security Council mandated is mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) to protect civilians, observe and report human rights related issues, following the cessation of hostilities and facilitating the delivery of humanitarian assistance in the country.
Soumare, however, said there are difficulties in executing those duties by UN personnel.
“What is really important is that we remember that we are also engaging with the Government to ensure that we can actually implement our mandate in a constructive manner,” he said.
“Yes, there are challenges, but we are doing our utmost to deal with the situation. And that is the reason why we believe it is important to engage with the Government so that conditions can be created for IDPs to feel more secure and ready to go back to their homes,” he added, without hinting on the areas of conflict with government officials.
The UN often complains of being blocked from reaching civilians trapped in warzones.
(ST)