The United Nations Security Council said Thursday that the South Sudanese government should halt efforts to create 28 new states in the country as earlier called for by the East African block IGAD.
In a statement, the president of the Security Council called on the South Sudanese government to “abide by and take no action inconsistent with the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) 30-31 January communique, which was subsequently endorsed by the parties and JMEC, on the issue of the Presidential Decree on the creation of 28 states.”
IGAD’s communique urged the South Sudanese government to stop the process of creating new states until after a review by a national boundaries commission.
The communique refers to “absence of agreement on the creation of new states” and expresses concern at the steps taken by the South Sudanese government to create the new states. “Such action is inconsistent with the terms of the Agreement to Resolve the Conflict in South Sudan,” the statement says.
Although South Sudan’s government has nominally endorsed the IGAD communique, governors of the new 28 states appointed by Kiir have been forming their cabinets, new state parliaments and other institutions in an effort to legitimize and operationalize the new states.
The exact text of the IGAD communique calls on the South Sudanese government “to suspend further action on implementing the operationalization of new states until an inclusive, participatory National Boundary Commission comprising all Parties to ARCSS reviews proposed states and their boundaries, and that this review process occur, for a period of up to one month.”
Separately, the UN Security Council also called on the South Sudanese government and SPLM-IO to cooperate with each other and implement the Juba security arrangements as decided at a Joint Monitoring and Evaluation Commission meeting last month.
The Council further called on the First Vice President Riek Machar to take up his position in the Transitional Government of National Unity in Juba.
Related:
5 parliament committee chairs dismissed for rejecting 28 states (1 Dec. 2015)