UN Security Council Unhappy with South Sudan’s Delayed Unity Government

The members of the Security Council have once again turned focus onto South Sudanese leaders over the recent extension of formation of Transitional Unity Government by 100 days.

Early this month, President Salva Kiir and opposition leader Riek Machar while meeting in Kampala, decided to extended the implementation of the unity government by 100 days to allow more talks.

The UN Security Council meeting in New York this week, expressed disappointment that the South Sudanese leaders “failed to take the steps necessary to peacefully form a “Revitalized Transitional Government of National Unity” by the previously extended deadline of 12 November.”

“The members of the Security Council expressed concern that parties to the Agreement have not made substantive progress on implementation of critical tasks of the pre-transitional period of the Agreement, including transitional security arrangements and determination of the number and boundaries of states, and called on the parties to make immediate progress on these tasks and on outcomes agreed at the 9 November 2019 IGAD Ministerial Consultative Meeting with the Parties to the R-ARCSS, including for the government and opposition forces to immediately vacate all remaining civilian centres and populated areas,” read a statement released on Friday.

The Council welcomed the agreement for the guarantors and the parties to establish a mechanism to supervise the implementation of critical tasks, and called on the guarantors and parties of the Agreement to quickly operationalize the mechanism and set out clearly how it will operate in coordination with the existing mechanisms and institutions of the Agreement, as well as stakeholders to the South Sudan peace process.

The Security Council called on parties to the Agreement to publicly reaffirm their commitments to the Agreement and to the 21 December 2017 Agreement on Cessation of Hostilities and Protection of Civilians, and Humanitarian Access.

It also urged parties to the Agreement to continue taking steps in line with the provisions of the Agreement to promote the full, effective, and meaningful participation of women in the formation of the Revitalized Transitional Government of National Unity.

Meanwhile, the council expressed concern at the dire humanitarian situation, which has been exacerbated by severe flooding, as well as the human rights and economic situation in South Sudan, and called on all parties to the Agreement and armed groups in South Sudan to cease all acts of sexual and gender-based violence, end the recruitment and use of child soldiers, killing and maiming or sexual violence against children, and to release all children that have been recruited to date.