The United States has rejected a government claim that it is undermining the sovereignty of South Sudan, and says it is committed to bringing peace and development in the country.
The comments came after Minister of Information Michael Makuei said that an American proposal at the UN Security Council undermines the sovereignty of South Sudan.
“There is no language in the Security Council resolution that substantiates the allegations that the United States or the Security Council are seeking to establish a protectorate here,” US Ambassador to South Sudan Molly Phee told Radio Tamazuj.
On Sunday, the American government submitted a draft at the Security Council which called for 4,000 peacekeepers to secure the country after recent clashes. It came after an IGAD meeting on Friday, which said that a regional force would report to the United Nations mission here.
Phee emphasized that the American proposal was based on the IGAD communique, and the resolution at the UN was only submitted after the IGAD communique was finalized.
On Wednesday, Makuei said that they did not agree to the IGAD communique, specifically a portion that places the regional protection force under UN command.
Since the civil war began in 2013, the United States government says that it has provided around $1.6 billion in aid for the people of South Sudan.
“The government needs to recall the long history of UN engagement here. The purpose of US engagement is to bring peace and development,” Phee said.