Statement by Deputy Permanent Representative Anna Evstigneeva at UNSC briefing on the situation in South Sudan
Mme.President,
We thank Special Representative Nicholas Haysom and Ms. Reena Ghelani for their insights about the developments in South Sudan. We listened carefully to remarks by Ms. Merekaje Lorna Nanjia. We welcome the Permanent Representative of South Sudan to this briefing. We would like to congratulate him and the people of South Sudan on the 10th anniversary of independence that was celebrated on 9th July and make assurances of Russia’s readiness as a UNSC member to support the efforts that Juba makes on its way to peace and stability.
We believe that the establishment of transitional government of national unity and termination of “pre-transitional” period in South Sudan create the necessary conditions that make it possible for South Sudan to move towards political stability and national reconciliation.
We welcome the launch of the National Transitional Legislative Assembly and the Council of States. Finalized formation of the parliament is one of the most important political provisions of the transitional period that is envisaged by the Revitalised Agreement for resolving the conflict in South Sudan. Successful completion of this task marks the end of implementing political provisions of the Revitalised Peace Agreement. In this regard, we note the political will of South Sudanese sides and trust that they will continue working on implementing the other provisions of the peace agreements.
We also count on continuation of work aimed at forming South Sudan’s Armed Forces, which is aggravated by lacking material and technical support and financing. We call on the non-signatories of the Revitalised Peace Agreement to join the state-building process.
In this regard, we commend the initiative of the Sant'Egidio Community and count on the continuation of talks between the government and the non-signatories.
We give credit to mediator efforts of the African Union, and Member States of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) that foster implementation of concrete provisions contained in the peace agreements. In particular, it was thanks to IGAD mediation that truce was established between the factions of the “Sudan People's Liberation Movement-in-Opposition” led by South Sudan’s first Vice President R.Machar and S.Gatwech.
Sporadic inter-communal armed clashes in a number of regions of South Sudan, as well as the overall socio-economic and humanitarian situations in the country cannot fail to raise concern. Humanitarian assistance must reach those who need it most. According to the UN statistic, from April to June over 7 million people experienced food insecurity, and more than 1.5 million children are undernourished. We strongly condemn any violations of the ceasefire agreement, acts of violence against civilians, including employees of humanitarian organizations operating in South Sudan.
We are convinced that as the situation normalizes, we will have to review the sanctions regime that is in effect for South Sudan. We expect that in order to have the arms embargo relieved, South Sudanese authorities will make solid progress towards achieving the benchmarks set out in UNSC resolution 2577.
Thank you.
