Statement by Deputy Permanent Representative Anna Evstigneeva at UNSC briefing on South Sudan
Mr.President,
We thank Special Representative of the Secretary-General Nicholas Haysom for his insights into the recent developments in South Sudan.
Mr.Haysom, we welcome you at your first Council briefing. We wish to you every success in your new capacity as Head of the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS). By all means, we will continue supporting the activity of Blue Helmets which constitutes an integral part of global efforts aimed at stabilization in South Sudan. We also thank the contributors of military and police contingents to UNMISS.
We welcome the Permanent Representative of South Sudan at this briefing, and we followed closely the remarks of Mr. Rajab Mohandis.
Mr.President,
We believe that the establishment of transitional government of national unity and termination of “pre-transitional” period in South Sudan create the conditions that enable South Sudan to move towards political stability and national reconciliation.
We welcome measures taken by the leadership of South Sudan with regard to key peacebuilding issues, including appointment of state governments, and endorsement of local authorities at the counties level. Also, we note the recent decisions of President S.Kiir to form a new composition of National Transitional Legislative Assembly and the Council of States, and also to start working on a new edition of draft constitution.
The sides will be able to enhance mutual trust and avoid repeating the mistakes of the past only if they implement the achieved agreements promptly and fully.
We reckon that the work aimed at establishing Joint Armed Forces of the Republic of South Sudan will continue even though it is complicated by a huge need for proper procurement and financing.
We call on 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 to hold consultations between the government and non-signatories, which hopefully will bring tangible results.
We welcome mediator efforts of the African Union, and Member States of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) that promote implementation of concrete provisions contained in the peace agreements. Their approaches should maintain the spirit of unity, which allows for observance of the principle “African solutions – to African problems”.
Sporadic inter-communal armed clashes in a number of regions of South Sudan cannot but raise concern. We strongly condemn any violations of the ceasefire agreement, acts of violence against civilians, including personnel of humanitarian organizations operating on the ground in South Sudan.
We are convinced that as the situation normalizes, we will have to review the effective sanctions regime for South Sudan. We expect that in order to have the arms embargo relieved, South Sudanese authorities will make significant progress on “target indicators” set out in UNSC resolution 2577 of 28 May 2021.
Mr. President,
In conclusion, we would like to point out that next month will mark 10 years since South Sudan declared its independence. At the current stage, the country encounters unprecedented challenges. However, we can clearly see that the people of South Sudan aspire to live in peace and prosperity. A lot of things still need to be done. We are convinced, that it is the task of the international community, including the UN Security Council, to provide the required assistance to Juba to support the becoming of this young state.
