South Sudan president vows personal commitment to ending war
September 15, 2017 (JUBA)- South Sudan President Salva Kiir on Friday pledged personal commitment to ending the war in the country, saying initiatives aimed at resolving the root causes of the conflict have been launched.
Kiir made his pledge during a meeting with the head of the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) David Shearer ahead of the annual United Nations General Assembly to held in New York from 18 to 25 September.
Speaking at a news briefing after the meeting, Ambassador Bol Wek, acting Chief Administrator at the presidency, described the meeting as cordial and fruitful. He told reporters that President Kiir had said that South Sudan had made “a lot of progress” to bring peace and stability back to the country, including the National Dialogue process.
Also, the South Sudanese leader praised the efforts exerted by the international body in support of peace and the national dialogue process. Further, he declared his “personal commitment” to achieve peace in the troubled country.
“The current steps being taken by the UN on the peace process are important to the realization of peace across the country. The President has declared his personal commitment to ending the conflict,” Wek told reporters on Friday.
“It was a fruitful meeting and Mr Shearer will go to the UN and brief about the progress he has seen and what needs to be done to support the peace process,” Bol Wek added.
Besides the deployment of the peacekeepers and the additional regional protection force, the UN has provided financial and logistical support for the National Dialogue and is bringing experts from around the world to train and advise when requested.
The Head of UNMISS David Shearer said he briefed the President on the outcomes of a recent joint meeting of the UN Security Council delegation with the African Union Peace and Security Council (AUPSC) on the South Sudan peace process in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
He told reporters he briefed the south Sudanese leader on the main issues that were raised in the Addis Ababa and in regards to the peace process, the revitalization forum, and the National Dialogue.
The top UN representative to South Sudan informed Kiir about his planned travel to New York UN headquarters to participate in the coming UN General Assembly (UNGA) meeting next Week.
“I wanted to get the President’s views on a number of issues ahead of my trip, including the revitalization of the peace agreement,” he further said.
Shearer said that he plans to meet the National Dialogue Steering Committee members in order to understand better and hear their views on the political process.
(ST)