The government of South Sudan through its ministry of foreign affairs has expressed disappointment over a renewed report by United States President Joe Biden titled, “Notice on the Continuation of the National Emergency with Respect to South Sudan”.
The report dated March 29, 2023, describes the situation in South Sudan as still being marked by activities that threaten the peace, security, or stability of South Sudan and the surrounding region, including widespread violence and atrocities, human rights abuses, recruitment and use of child soldiers, attack on peacekeepers, and obstruction of humanitarian operations.
Addressing journalists during a press conference in Juba on Saturday, Deng Dau Deng, Acting Minister of Foreign Affairs expressed his government’s position.
“As parties to the Revitalized Peace Agreement on the Resolution of Conflict in the Republic of South Sudan continue to redouble efforts to implement the agreement to its logical conclusion in December 2024, some of our foreign friends have continued to play the role of doubting Thomases by occasionally dampening our spirit through unhelpful actions such as renewal of sanctions and arms embargo, unjustified condemnations at the Human Rights Council, and just yesterday March 29th, through the renewal of what the United States Government calls “Notice on the Continuation of the National Emergency with Respect to South Sudan,” he roared.
“The government of South Sudan deplores this statement which is merely a regurgitation of the 2014 situation. Obviously, the formulators of such allegations did not care to inform themselves about the significant strides that South Sudan has made ever since the signing of the R-ARCRSS,” Dau added.
The furious Dau says, despite the renewal of sanctions on the government of South Sudan by the international community, the government will not be distracted from implementing the 2018 peace deal.
“Notwithstanding the criticism that we receive from time to time from our foreign friends, the government of the Republic of South Sudan will continue to implement R-ARCRSS in spirit and letter. The government has amply demonstrated the necessary political will to implement the agreement in good faith. It will therefore not be distracted by any uniformed and misplaced critiques,” he added.
Speaking in the same press conference, Michael Makuei Lueth, South Sudan’s Minister of Information, blamed international organizations operating in South Sudan for writing reports that vilify the government of South Sudan.
“The reports that go to America and the world at large are the reports which are written by the people who are living here in South Sudan. They are the reports which are written by the NGOs, by the UN agencies, and by all those who are concerned about South Sudan. The paradox is that the reports that go from here are always negative and anti-government of South Sudan,” he noted. “What I can say is that President Biden and all the others are not to blame for whatever action they take, but it is the people here, those who write the reports from here misleading the international community.”
For his part, Albino Akol Atak, the minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Disaster Managament, calls on the international community to lift the arms embargo so that the government can sufficiently deploy its forces to keep security across the country.
“This issue of arms embargo should be lifted so that our government empowers its forces so that they could improve security. Because if the government has no arms to deploy its forces so that they do disarmament, then those guns will continue to be there and those people will continue to cause problems including on humanitarian convoys,” stated Akol.
On April 3, 2014, by Executive Order 13664, President Barack Obama declared a national emergency pursuant to the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1701-1706) to deal with the unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States constituted by the situation in and in relation to South Sudan, which has been marked by activities that threaten the peace, security, or stability of South Sudan and the surrounding region, including widespread violence and atrocities, human rights abuses, recruitment and use of child soldiers, attacks on peacekeepers, and obstruction of humanitarian operations.
“The situation in and in relation to South Sudan continues to pose an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States. For this reason, the national emergency declared on April 3, 2014, must continue in effect beyond April 3, 2023. Therefore, in accordance with section 202(d) of the National Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C. 1622(d)), I am continuing for 1 year the national emergency declared in Executive Order 13664,” read the statement by President Joe Biden Jr.