76th Session of the United Nations General Assembly
UN Security Council on South Sudan
Statement by Ambassador Sven Jürgenson
September 15, New York
I want to thank SRSG Haysom, Ms Ghelani and Ms Merekaje Lorna for their briefing.
I would like to start by commending the Government on several positive and successful actions. First, we welcome the advancing of the transitional justice agenda. Second, the inauguration of the Parliament on August 30th was an important step towards democratic institution building and accountability and ultimately – the upcoming elections. It is crucial that they are well prepared. We duly hope that the Government of South Sudan will continue to work towards the reforms set out in the peace agreement. Otherwise, the upcoming elections cannot be seen as transparent, credible and inclusive. One thing is to have the changes on paper, but we also want to see the Parliament working as it should.
Estonia is very concerned about the suppression of the civic space. The arbitrary arrests, detention, harassment of human rights activists and the shutdown of major internet service providers is unacceptable. We call for the immediate release of all individuals arrested during the planned protests. Civil society must be able to operate freely in South Sudan; it is in the interests of a peaceful future for the country. This is especially relevant bearing in mind the upcoming elections.
The recent internal disputes in the SPLM/A-IO are worrisome. These disputes can break the already fragile peace and we call the opposing factions to refrain from fuelling the animosity. In this regard, we also welcome IGAD’s swift intervention to find a solution between the opposing factions.
We remain concerned about the extrajudicial executions carried out in Warrap and Lakes. It is disheartening to read that these executions have had the approval of state officials. We call on the government to investigate these killings and we call them to do it in compliance with its international obligations under international human rights law. The cycle of violence cannot stop if the government will not bring the perpetrators to justice. This is necessary to end impunity and enhance accountability. We need to see improvements to the human rights situation in the country, especially concerning conflict-related sexual violence.
Mister President,
The humanitarian situation continues to be very dire, affected by the tensions and conflicts in the region and exacerbated by extreme floods and the socio-economic impact of COVID-19. The numbers outlined in the Secretary-Generals report make for a grim reading, with about 60% of the population likely to face acute food insecurity and about 108,000 people already facing catastrophic hunger. This year, already four humanitarian workers have been killed. It is the government’s task to ensure a safe and secure environment for humanitarian partners to work in.
To conclude, I want to thank SRSG Nicholas Haysom and UNMISS for their valuable work in South Sudan.