The two visiting UN Security Council officials have completed their four-day visit to South Sudan pledging to gather support to respond to dire humanitarian situations caused by flooding and sub-national violence and review the arms embargo on South Sudan.
Both Jean Pierre Lacroix, the United Nations Undersecretary-General for Peace Operations, and Earle Courtenay Rattray, Chief De Cabinet Executive Office of the Secretary-General visited the country over the weekend and met several political leaders and civil society groups in the country.
Addressing journalists during the press conference in Juba on Wednesday, Mr. Jean-Pierre Lacroix said the council is considering reviewing the arms embargo on South Sudan.
In May this year, the Security Council renewed the arms embargo, travel ban, and assets freeze imposed on South Sudan in 2018 for another year to expire in May 2023.
“The Security Council has determined a few benchmarks that it would consider reviewing the arms embargo and there are several benchmarks or criteria for which we can help. One of that has to be with the management of weapons and ammunition, how they have been kept,” stated Lacroix.
”Finally, on the hybrid court, we are actively supporting accountability and putting in place the mechanisms so that there will be accountability and the hybrid court is one of them,” he added.
Lacroix said despite the challenges posed by natural disasters and the persistence of intercommunal violence in many areas of the country, the implementation of the peace agreement must stay on course.
“We are committed to partnering with the communities and local and national authorities to address the security challenges, humanitarian challenges, and to address the challenges resulting from the natural disaster, and other such challenges. Ultimately, the political process is what will finally determine the future of South Sudan. If we are to have a successful electoral process in this country, this will have to be an inclusive one,” he said.
Earle Courtenay Rattray, Chief De Cabinet Executive Office of the Secretary-General said their visit was critical with meaningful engagements with different stakeholders in the country including women and internally displaced persons.
“This visit is important and it was my very first visit to South Sudan at what I consider to be a critical moment. We have already peace process issues and then activities on the way and at the same time, the country is grappling with the devastating impacts of the floods. We have this issue of this climate-induced disaster that has been on the top of the mind and top of the list of the challenges and the need for support from the international community,” he said.
Mr. Rattrey also encouraged South Sudanese to embark on agriculture citing that a vast area of the country is fertile for agriculture.
“As I traveled around yesterday, I see this country shouldn’t be food insecure and it should not be import dependent. I think there is so much potential here for developing agriculture. Get the technological know-how and learn how to process it,” he advised.
After the four-day visit on Wednesday, Mr. Lacroix and Rattray said they discussed a range of issues, including meeting with the political leaders, civil society representatives, and other key stakeholders in the peace process.
According to Rattray, flooding, and persistent localized violence are still major challenges in the country including lack of food, shelter, medical supplies, inadequate human resources, and lack of educational services in parts of the country.