Statement by First Deputy Permanent Representative Dmitry Polyanskiy at a UN Security Council Briefing on the situation in South Sudan
Mr. President,
We would like to commend the report of Special Representative of the Secretary-General David Shearer and assure him of our unwavering support for his activity and the activity of the UN peacekeeping operation under his lead deployed in South Sudan. We thank Ms. Betty Sunday for the information she shared.
We also thank countries that contribute military and police contingents to the mission.
Mr. President,
South Sudan is a very young state that is living through a vital stage of its history. Therefore, now it is the task of the global community to provide the required support to the people of South Sudan as they address challenges that exist for the country.
Moscow welcomes the recent positive developments in the process of peaceful settlement in South Sudan. It became possible thanks to the compromise agreements that major sides to the South Sudanese process managed to reach. We would like to point out an important initiative of President Salva Kiir who demonstrated political will and agreed to compromise solutions with regard to the administrative division of the country. We also note the decision of Riek Machar to join the process of forming the Government of National Unity and take the office of First Vice President.
We are convinced that the beginning of formation of new governing bodies of the country and the conclusion of the “pre-transition” period within previously agreed terms create the necessary conditions for South Sudan’s movement towards political stability and national reconciliation, successful resolution of urgent social and political tasks in the interests of the entire South Sudanese nation.
We believe it is important that the sides are ready to overcome disputes by means of a frank dialogue. We hope all the necessary formalities will soon be over and implementation of agreements related to the transition period will continue. We proceed from the assumption that sides can enhance mutual trust and avoid repeating the mistakes of the past only if they implement their obligations in a comprehensive and exhausting manner.
Mr. President,
We take note of the decreasing level of armed violence and the number of inter-communal clashes ever since the Renewed Peace Agreement was signed in 2018. Improvement of the situation with security facilitated humanitarian access. The number of human rights violations has gone down drastically. All of this promotes the return of South Sudanese refugees and IDPs to their permanent places of residence.
We link it, above all, to the implementation of mutual confidence measures and occurrence of on-the-ground contacts between the opposing sides. It is vital that they should continue to abide by the ceasefire. We call upon the South Sudanese to strictly stick to these agreements.
We also call upon non-signatories of the Renewed Peace Agreement to join the state-building process as soon as possible. We commend efforts of the Community of Sant'Egidio and the Italian Government at this track.
Mr. President,
We have stated many times and we repeat it today that when it comes to accompanying the South Sudanese peace process, the “first fiddle” is to be played by the regionals. In this regard, we welcome efforts of the IGAD, African Union, Sudan, Kenya, Uganda, and South Africa. It is important that their approaches remain unified. This will work for the principle “African solutions to the African problems”.
We are convinced that it was not sanction pressure, or, by far, unilateral restrictions that facilitated progress in South Sudanese settlement. The main element was the contribution of regional mediators. We expect that soon the South Sudanese will be able to agree on the whole range of issues, which will make it possible for the Security Council to review the sanctions regime in order to adapt it to the reality on the ground.
Thank you.
