The UN stresses the “urgency” in South Sudan to apply the measures of the peace agreement

14 Jan. (EUROPA PRESS) –

The head of the United Nations mission in South Sudan (UNMISS), Nicholas Haysom, offered this Friday his first press conference of the year in which he stressed the “urgency” in the African country to apply the measures contained in the peace agreements that include the holding of elections in 2024.

“This year is especially important for South Sudan and its people. I know we say it every year, but this year will really determine whether the transition to peace, outlined in the road map, can really be achieved,” he told the press the head of the UN.

Haysom has acknowledged that a number of key milestones have been reached to date in the implementation of the Revitalized Peace Agreement of 2018 but that “it will be crucial that South Sudan meets all its critical benchmarks”, so next year will require “a sense of urgency.”

The peace agreement was signed in 2018, which was supposed to put an end to the civil war that started in 2013, but today it is long overdue. In this sense, the elections that were scheduled for December last year have been postponed for two years, while the humanitarian crisis in the country worsens.

In the same way, Haysom has held a meeting this week with the president of South Sudan, Salva Kiir, with the aim of accelerating the application of the pending points of the agreement. Among the points discussed would be the drafting of the constitution, the inter-community clashes in some parts of the country and the unification of the Army, “in order to create an atmosphere conducive to holding free, fair and credible elections in December 2024”, Haysom has pointed out.

The humanitarian emergency in South Sudan remains serious, exacerbated by conflict, climatic disturbances and extensive flooding. According to United Nations data, in 2023 more than 9 million people will need humanitarian aid and protection, an alarming figure for a country of some 12 million inhabitants.