Prioritise peace and security, S. Sudanese leaders urged
June 13, 2016 (JUBA) – The head of the United Nations peacekeeping operations, Herve Ladsous said South Sudan has opened a new page in its national life with the coming into force of the newly-established Transitional Government of National Unity (TGoNU).
The UN involvement in the country, Ladsous said, should not be seen as the work of a substitute government, but that key decision-making be in hands of South Sudanese.
‘‘It was very important to listen to our South Sudanese interlocutors with one very important message; it is that the responsibilities are theirs, but that the UN are here to help,” said the UN head of peacekeeping mission.
He added, “We are not there to substitute, the decisions have to be made by the South Sudanese themselves, but we are in support”.
According to Ladsous, South Sudanese leaders should focus on, stability and security, the situation of internally displaced persons, building an institutional framework, the economy and humanitarian situation with focus on food insecurity.
Tens of thousands of people were killed and nearly two million were displaced in South Sudan’s worst ever violence since its secession from neighbouring Sudan in 2011.
Ladsous also visited displaced camps in Bentiu and Malakal, raising issues of human rights and tasking the government not to compromise on the rights of ordinary people.
“I would also mention, of course that we remain very attentive to human rights and similar issues, but we are taking a positive view. Again, a new page has opened and the relationship of the United Nations with South Sudan similarly is now on a new footing,” he further stressed.
South Sudan had been in political crisis since the current first vice-president was sacked by president Kiir in 2013, following a war which broke out in the young African nation.
President Kiir and his deputy Machar, under the terms of a peace agreement signed in August 2015, formed a 30-month Transitional Government of National Unity (TGoNU).
(ST)