UNMISS: A3+1 Statement

Madam President,

I have the honour to deliver this statement on behalf of the A3+1: Kenya, Niger, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and Tunisia.

Let me begin by expressing our gratitude to the Secretary General for the comprehensive report, as well as the SRSG for South Sudan and Head of UNMISS, Mr. David Shearer, for his insightful briefing. We commend SRSG, Shearer, for the outstanding work during his tenure at the helm of UNMISS that saw the Mission make significant contribution to the South Sudan peace process and overall stabilization efforts.

We congratulate Mr Nicholas Haysom on his appointment as SRSG for South Sudan and Head of UNMISS. We wish him success and look forward to supporting his work.

Madam President,

The A3+1 welcomes the overall improvement of the political and security situation in South Sudan, demonstrated by among others: the collegiality among the leadership of the Parties; the gradual implementation of the Revitalized Peace Agreement; the more than two and a half years holding of the permanent ceasefire; and the transition of the UN Protection of Civilian sites to camps of Internally Displaced Persons under the responsibility of the Government of South Sudan.

It is notable that the implementation of the Revitalized Peace Agreement has been incremental, with the recent significant breakthroughs being: the establishment of the transitional governance institutions at the national and state level; and, the completion of the appointment of State Governors and Deputy Governors, as well as other state level officials.

Despite this progress, however, the implementation of some key activities on governance continue to fall behind schedule, in particular, the reconstitution of the Transitional National Legislature. We therefore urge the Parties to expeditiously finalize the ongoing appointments of state officials and reconstitute Transitional National Legislature.

We also urge the Parties to remain committed to the principle of inclusivity, including the implementation of the agreed minimum of 35% quota for women participation as well as youth engagement. These are necessary to create the fundamental political and security foundation for the transition period.

Madam President,

It is encouraging that the overall security situation in the country continues to improve as the Parties observe the permanent ceasefire. We commend the Government for the measures taken to address the low-level localized and ethnic conflicts that have been reported from time to time. We appreciate that this is work-in-progress and more remains to be done to address the root causes.

The A3+1 also notes with concern the slow progress of the implementation of transitional security arrangements, as stipulated under Chapter Two of the Revitalized Peace Agreement. This slow progress is largely attributable to the lack of technical capacity and limited resources. In this regard, we welcome efforts to facilitate capacity building in the security sector including, the training on leadership, peace building and reconstruction held in Nairobi, Kenya, targeting senior officers of the South Sudan People's Defence Forces (SSPDF) and opposition commanders.

We reiterate that the overall stability of South Sudan can only be guaranteed through a comprehensive improvement of the security sector. We therefore call upon the parties to expedite the ongoing process of cantonment, selection, training, and deployment of the Necessary Unified Forces.

The A3+1 also takes note of the progress made under the "Rome Initiative of the South Sudan Peace Process" and convey our appreciation to the Community of Sant'Egidio for its contribution and facilitation. We urge the Parties to remain committed to the Rome process in the spirit of dialogue and compromise.

It is critical that the non-signatories parties join the transition process without further delay and actively participate in its implementation. We also call on all parties to honour their commitments on the cessation of hostilities and make every effort to expeditiously conclude the ongoing discussions.

Madam President,

Important lessons have been learned during the last two and a half years of the implementation of the Revitalized Peace Agreement. There is no doubt that this is a complex and costly arrangement which will require an investment of a significant amount of time and resources. For instance, the current report of the Secretary-General, critical institutions for the implementation of the peace process, such as the National Constitution Amendment Committee, cannot proceed because of the funding gap.

In light of these challenges, we wish to underscore the imperative for continued regional and international support towards the implementation of the South Sudan peace process including through: robust diplomatic and political engagement; technical assistance; and, financial and logistical assistance. Of critical importance in this regard will be the implementation of the transitional security arrangements and capacity building of the justice and rule of law, as well as public administration sectors.

Madam President,

We can never over-emphasize the important role of UNMISS in supporting the people of South Sudan to lay a firm foundation for the achievement of peace, stability and development. In this regard, the A3+1 welcomes the report on UNMISS Independent Strategic Review.

This report will be critical in informing the upcoming review of UNMISS mandate with a view to make the mission more FIT-FOR-PURPOSE. The expectations of the People of South Sudan and the region is that the new UNMISS mandate should be calibrated to respond to the evolving political and security situation with a particular focus on giving concrete support to the peace process, including technical and logistical support for mechanisms and institutions responsible for the implementation of the Revitalized Peace Agreement.

In this regard, we wish to emphasize the following:

The fragility of South Sudan demands that the peace process be complemented by a robust peace-building program. Some of the elements to guide this effort are within the provisions of the Revitalized Peace Agreement and could be easily implemented with little support. UNMISS should be mandated and capacitated to support such programmes that include elements of transitional security arrangements.

State formation and institutional-building in South Sudan remains a work-in-progress. This is what informed the establishment of UNMISS on 8th July 2011. The Council should reflect on the founding mandate to inform the future trajectory of the activities of the Mission, including in consolidation of peace and security, creating conditions for development, and strengthening the institutional capacity of the Government. Such a focus will be instrumental in helping South Sudan develop the institutional capacity to govern effectively and respond to the challenges of accountability on human rights, resource management and other areas of public services.

Madam President,

The recent improvements in the political and security situation makes it opportune for this Council to evaluate the efficacy of sanctions imposed on South Sudan. The A3+1 welcomes the ongoing exercise for elaboration of well identified benchmarks that would guide the reviewing of those measures. We therefore call for specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and time bound targets which could be easily assessed against the progress achieved.

It is fitting that we continue to recognise the vital role played by South Sudan's neighbours and Africa in the difficult path to achieving ceasefire and compromise in peace-building. In particular, we note the sustained efforts by the IGAD Heads of State and Ministers in bringing the warring parties together to achieve a political settlement. In this period of instability in other parts of the region, we recommend all conflicting parties to consider the record set in the South Sudan's peace process as a resource for them.

To conclude, the A3+1 reiterates its appreciation for the continued efforts of the UN, AU, IGAD and all international partners in supporting the people of South Sudan in their quest for peace, stability and prosperity.

I thank you, Madam President.