South Sudan’s peace deal at “critical” stage: UN official

December 3, 2015 (NEW YORK) – South Sudan’s peace deal signed in August is at a “critical” moment requiring both the United Nations Security Council and international partner of the East African regional bloc (IGAD) to intervene, a UN official said.

“Now is the time for the Council and international partners of the IGAD Plus to invest politically in supporting the take-off of the transition, or the progress made could be lost,” the head of the UN peacekeeping operations Hervé Ladsous said Wednesday.

He said 1,100 additional peacekeepers were needed to help monitor the accord.

South Sudan president Salva Kiir and armed opposition leader, Riek Machar signed the peace deal mediated by the IGAD Plus and its partners, including the African Union, the UN, China and the Troika trio of Norway, United Kingdom and the United States.

Tens of thousands of people were killed and nearly two millions displaced in South Sudan’s worst-ever outbreak of conflict since its independence from Sudan in 2011.

“We must work collectively on increasing the buy-in of the parties to the implementation of their agreement, and actively support the institutions it has provided to put an end to this senseless conflict,” said Ladsous.

“As expected, the implementation of the peace agreement is progressing slowly and with serious difficulties”, he told the Council.

The peace deal in South Sudan has repeatedly been violated by both sides in the conflict amidst concerns it may not hold in the run-up to its transitional government.

According to the peacekeeping chief, repeated violation of the ceasefire by the two warring parties has resulted into continued civilian casualties, displacement and an increase in humanitarian needs.

“A complete and immediate cessation of hostilities is the first major and genuine contribution to the peace process that the two parties owe to their population, to their people. Nonetheless, we continue to see incessant and continuous clashes on the ground,” he stressed.

Ladsous also briefed the Council on a new proposal for peacekeepers of the UN mission in South Sudan. This proposal included increasing troops to monitor the ceasefire.

He said “no amount of troops or police can replace the political will required of the leaders of South Sudan to bring an end to their conflict”, and that any unilateral political initiative taken by either party at this point of the peace process, was “counter-productive”.

“Our messaging to both parties should be clear and unequivocal: we need the agreement, the whole Agreement and nothing but the Agreement, and we need it urgently,” he added.

(ST)