There has to be forward movement on at least four fronts as South Sudan enters “a critical year” with a sense of urgency essential maintains the senior United Nations (UN) representative in the landlocked east African country.
Nicholas Haysom, special representative of UN secretary general Antonio Guterres in the world’s youngest country – it came into being on 9 July 2011 – outlined his views for the year ahead during a press conference in the capital Juba this month (January).
He is reported by UNMISS, the UN Mission in South Sudan, as saying: “Progress needs to be accomplished this year and benchmarks [missed in the peace agreement implementation roadmap] need to be recovered”.
The four fronts he listed as fast tracking implementation of the “revitalised peace agreement”, drafting a new constitution, deploying a unified national army and preparing for elections in December 2024.
Warning inter-communal violence “could even derail the peace process”, Haysom listed five sub-national conflicts as particularly worrying, using escalating fighting in Jonglei State and the Greater Pibor Administrative Area as examples of what is happening and what is being done to resolve the situation.
“The number of women and children abducted is shocking and the same can be said of those who face grave rights violations, including conflict related sexual violence and abuse,” he said, describing abductions as “barbaric” and a “scourge” and commending Jonglei authorities for assisting with the release of 68 survivors.
UNMISS, Haysom said, will continue investigations to document human rights violations and is considering setting up additional temporary operating bases (TOBs) to better protect civilians.
Increased patrolling by peacekeepers, food distribution and other humanitarian aid, keeping access routes passable and safe, highlighting accountability for perpetrators of violations and more engagements and consultations with national and regional stakeholders were named as other taskings for UNMISS. These methodologies are used not only to mitigate circumstances in the Jonglei-Pibor conflict, but also for where there is inter-communal violence elsewhere in the country.
The Head of the UN in South Sudan reiterated the peacekeeping mission’s resources to protect civilians are “finite”. Haysom hopes creation and deployment of the necessary unified forces – under one command – will increase capacity to deal with inter-communal violence.
“Improving our efficacy and speed of action remains the priority,” he said the listing some activities in 2022 due to continue in the new year. They are demining; road rehabilitation; building or repairing dykes to be better prepared for this year’s rainy season; capacity building of all links of the justice system; deployment of mobile courts to strengthen accountability; promotion of human rights and protection of vulnerable groups; and implementation of local, small-scale infrastructure projects, the so-called quick impact projects (QIPs).
“This year UNMISS is investing in 60 projects building clinics, courts, police stations and prisons,” he said, adding healthcare for internally displaced persons (IDPs) to the list of undertakings.
The peacekeeping mission and other UN entities are ready and able to support the country’s way forward in a variety of ways, the essential process of drafting a new constitution “cannot be undertaken by the international community”, he said likening it to “a new social contract” for the South Sudanese people to live sustainably together in peace”.
“I offered UN technical support in this regard and emphasised the views of all segments or South Sudanese society are vital, both to the constitution and to the reconciliation process,” he said, referring to a recent meeting with the Minister of Justice and Constitutional Affairs.
As regards December 2024 elections, Haysom said UNMISS “engaged” with the National Election Commission and other relevant authorities. The electoral process, according to him, “must be transparent, fair and South Sudanese-owned”.
“It must also be carried out in a secure environment, free from violence and intimidation and complemented by the necessary political and civic space to allow for open dialogue, debate and campaigning,” Haysom said, adding “self-evidently, those conditions are not here yet.”
Legally qualified Haysom is a South African who has served in numerous positions for the New York headquartered world body following a five-year stint with the South African government including Chief Legal and Constitutional Adviser in the Office of the President. He was part of the 1999 to 2002 Burundi peace talks, serving as principal advisor to the mediator in the Sudanese peace process between 2002 and 2005. Since then he has, at various times, been in Afghanistan, Iraq, Somalia and Sudan as well as at the UN in New York.
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