Statement by Anna Evstigneeva, Deputy Permanent Representative of Russia to the UN, at an open VTC of UNSC members on South Sudan
Mr. President,
We thank SRSG David Shearer for the information about the state of affairs in South Sudan. Russia supports the activity of “Blue Helmets” and your “good offices” that constitute an important aspect of global efforts aimed at stabilizing the situation in the Republic of South Sudan. We appreciate the input of countries contributing police and military contingents to the UN mission.
We have taken into account the assessments of the humanitarian situation that Under-Secretary-General Lowcock shared today.
We have also taken note of the 2020 report of UNSC Committee 2206. Specifically, we would like to commend the seamless work of the Permanent representative of Vietnam in his capacity as Chair of this subsidiary body.
Mr. President,
The “Revitalised Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in the Republic of South Sudan” is working, and the sides remain committed to the effective arrangements. Indeed, there are some problems with their full implementation, however it is vital that the South Sudanese demonstrate political will to search for a common ground.
We welcomed the decisions made on 9 December by the presidium of South Sudan, constituted by the Head of State and the Vice-Presidents, that addressed a number of priority issues, including formation of governments of the nine states, endorsement of governing bodies at the counties level, and intention to start forming both chambers of an interim parliament.
We hope implementation of the interim agreements will continue, including those of them that fall behind the scheduled timeline. The sides can improve mutual trust and avoid repeating the mistakes of the past only when they fully and comprehensively comply with the obligations they took upon.
Mr. President,
We see a lasting trend of return of South Sudanese refugees and IDPs to their permanent places of residence. In the first place, it has to do with implementation of confidence-building measures and occurrence of on-the-ground contacts between the opposing sides. This given, it is vital to continue observing the ceasefire. As for the non-signatories of the Revitalized Agreement, we strongly encourage them to join the state-building process. In this context, we commend the mediator role of the Sant'Egidio Community.
By all means, regionals have an important role to play in sustaining South Sudanese peace process. We welcome the efforts of IGAD and the African Union that embody the principle “African solutions – to African problems” We would like to highlight the normalization of relations between South Sudan and its neighbors, i.a. through restoration of economic ties, which ought to have a positive bearing on stabilization in the entire sub-region of East Africa.
In conclusion, we would like to stress again that progress in South Sudanese settlement was reached thanks to the political will of the sides and efforts of regional mediators rather than sanctions pressure, to say nothing of unilateral restrictions. We expect that in accordance with UNSC resolution 2521, target indicators will be elaborated soon, which will allow for a review of sanctions regime and its adaptation to the reality on the ground.
