Assistant Secretary-General Bintou Keita wrapped up her four-day visit to South Sudan with a press conference in Juba.
There is a need for “all South Sudanese stakeholders to engage genuinely and constructively in finding a political solution” to the country’s current crisis, United Nations Assistant Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations, Bintou Keita, told reporters in the war-ravaged country’s capital, Juba, at the conclusion of her four-day visit.
“There is no military solution to the conflict,” Bintou said, underscoring the importance of the peace talks facilitated by the regional body, the Inter-Governmental Authority for Development (IGAD).
“The High-Level Revitalization Forum led by IGAD, which will resume soon, offers an important opportunity, which needs to be seized,” she said at a press conference, flanked by the Special Representative of the Secretary-General and head of the UN Mission in South Sudan, David Shearer.
Mr. Shearer highlighted the many ways the UN in South Sudan is supporting the peace process, internationally and locally, as a part of its mandate.
“We have provided logistical support to get the national dialogue to the places they need to go to, in other words helicopters and planes. We have provided financial support directly to the dialogue,” Shearer said, in response to a question about what the Mission was doing to support efforts to find a political solution.
“We have provided technical support to bring in the experience of national dialogues across the world. In those ways, we have supported the peace process. It is a critical part of our mission,” he added.
Referring to ongoing violence in parts of the country, Ms. Bintou Keita, who had earlier held meetings with senior government officials, including the First Vice President Taban Deng Gai and senior ministers, also called for an end to fighting, urging warring parties to “adhere scrupulously to the terms of the December 2017 Cessation of Hostilities Agreement.”
“The fighting between the government and rebel forces, which broke out in several parts of Greater Upper Nile and the Bahr-El-Ghazal in the past few weeks, has to stop once and for all,” she said, adding:
"But peace will not be won in Addis Ababa only. It has to be won in every state of the country where politically motivated intercommunal violence has become a great source of concern and has caused numerous fatalities in the past month.”
Bintou Keita urged all stakeholders to “make sure that the people-to-people peace initiatives, reconciliation efforts and the national dialogue process succeeds” in reducing tensions and brings the country towards a sustainable resolution of the conflict,” saying the United Nations was committed to supporting these initiatives “provided they are genuinely inclusive, transparent and offer complementary platforms through the efforts of IGAD.”
“If they are, we will not hesitate to tell the Opposition leaders: “Think about the country beyond your individual interest. Give peace a chance. Give your children a chance. Every opportunity for peace, every chance to save lives, has to be seized,” she said, in an earnest appeal.
Ms. Keita had earlier visited Wau, a town in the north-west of the country, where more than 20,000 people who fled the violence that erupted across South Sudan in 2013 have sought sanctuary at a UN Protection of Civilians site. There, she met Acting Wau Governor, Zeckaria Joseph Garang, and highlighted a lack of genuine trust and feelings of exclusion as major impediments to the peace process.
Spotlighting the violence borne by women and girls during the conflict, she said the country was “facing an emergency related to sexual violence.”
“I am particularly appalled by the violence this conflict has bought against women and girls in South Sudan. The atrocities committed and documented by multiple investigations are beyond the imaginable,” she said. “I am encouraged though that the government has started to look into the issue and is ready to invest into providing accountability for sexual and gender-based violence,” she added, calling it “a step in the right direction,” as she appealed for an even more urgent strategy.
“What we need from the government, the United Nations, and its partners, is an emergency response,” she said.