UN sanctions committee briefed on situation in South Sudan
April 18, 2018 (JUBA) – Members of the United Nations Security Council Committee, established pursuant to resolution 2206 (2015) concerning South Sudan, were briefed by the Panel of Experts on South Sudan in connection with the Panel’s final report, which was submitted in pursuance of paragraph 2 of resolution 2353 (2017).
The Committee also considered recommendations set out in the Panel’s final report, partly read a statement Sudan Tribune obtained.
The Committee, it further stressed, also received a briefing by the Office of the Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict, which provided updates on developments in South Sudan since the last briefing by the Special Representative to the members in March last year.
However, it was noted that while the young nation was facing the conflict for the fourth consecutive year, violations against children had increased considerably compared to the preceding two years.
The UN had verified over 1,000 incidents of all six grave violations against children, affecting close to 1,400 children in South Sudan.
During the 11 April meeting, the recruitment and use of children by all parties in South Sudan’s conflict, was assessed to be endemic.
“The office concluded that children were not just used on an ad hoc basis to temporarily boost military capacities of parties to the conflict or to provide services,” the statement noted, adding that children of South Sudan were the very fuel of the war, abused in a systematic and sustained manner which enabled the war effort to continue.
The world’s youngest nation has been mired in conflict between the government of President Salva Kiir and rebels led by Riek Machar, the country’s former first vice-president since mid-December 2013. The conflict has killed tens of thousands and displaced almost over 2 million people from their homes, including over a million refugees who have fled into neighbouring nations
(ST)