The President of Kenya Uhuru Kenyatta says that his country and those in the region have a collective responsibility to restore peace and security in South Sudan.
He spoke during a visit by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon who has called on East African countries to urgently provide more troops to the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) to “fortify” it in the wake of violence last week in Juba in which hundreds were killed.
Uhuru said, “We have all watched events in South Sudan with sorrow. Our youngest brother has fallen, yet again, into division and violence. It is our responsibility – all of us, but especially those in the region – to restore peace, and to restore it durably.”
He continued, “Let me be clear: those of us in the region have primary responsibility for peace and security here. But that responsibility is also collective – all of us must think carefully, and work hard, in the cause of peace.
The Kenyan leader went on to urge the UN Security Council to modify the mandate of UNMISS “so that it can separate those who have turned to violence, so that it can protect the infrastructure South Sudan has built, and so that it can enforce the peace. That is what collective responsibility means.”
Uhuru’s remarks echo those of the IGAD Executive Secretary Mahboub Maalim who earlier proposed a three-pronged approach to addressing the South Sudan crisis.
“First, impose an immediate arms embargo on South Sudan. Second, enact additional targeted sanctions on leaders and commanders working to unravel the peace process. Third, fortify the UN Mission in South Sudan, UNMISS,” the IGAD Executive Secretary said.
Maalim said that the chiefs of the militaries of Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Sudan and Uganda have made a proposal to reinforce UNMISS with troops from the region “under the same unity of mandate to assist in the stabilization of South Sudan,” according to a press release rom the Kenyan presidency.
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