The UN special envoy calls for “national leadership” to “complete the transition” opened after the 2018 peace agreement
July 1 (EUROPA PRESS) –
At least three people, including two children, have died of hunger in Warrap state, in central South Sudan, after the World Food Program (WFP) suspended the delivery of food aid due to lack of funding to support its operations in the African country.
According to information provided by the British television network BBC, the deaths have been registered during the last two days in this area of the country, affected by the increase in inter-community tensions due to the advance of desertification and the loss of cultivation fields.
The WFP announced the suspension of aid deliveries on June 14, when it warned that close to a third of people in acute food insecurity will be left without assistance, raising the risk that 1.7 million people starve to death
Thus, he stressed that the suspension of this aid comes “at the worst possible time” for the South Sudanese due to the situation of “unprecedented hunger”, with more than 60 percent of the population in a situation of serious food insecurity, a situation deepened due to the conflict, the floods, the drought and the increase in prices due to the war in Ukraine.
According to the agency’s data, about 7.4 million people will face acute hunger at the peak of the lean season between June and August, while 1.4 million children will face acute malnutrition. For this reason, he stressed that he needs 426 million dollars (about 408 million euros) to deliver aid to six million people in a situation of food insecurity during 2022.
In this context, the UN special envoy for South Sudan, Nicholas Haysom, explained on Thursday that “the harsh reality that many people face is that climate change, coupled with conflict and food insecurity, has created a humanitarian crisis of gigantic proportions”.
For this reason, he called for “national leadership” to “complete the transition” opened after the 2018 peace agreement. National leadership and resources are needed to complete the transition, as well as a visible commitment from South Sudanese leaders to fulfill their responsibilities under the agreement. of peace,” he explained.
Haysom stressed that the window of opportunity is closing and called for “a collective purpose” and “to work together for the full implementation” of the peace agreement with the aim of “exiting the transition period through the holding of free elections , just, credible and peaceful,” according to a transcript of his remarks provided by his office.
Thus, he requested a ‘road map’ such as “clear milestones” and “priorities” to carry out the transition. “The country must have a truly fully functional security apparatus to ensure a safe environment and as a prerequisite for citizens to vote and express their will at the polls,” she said.
In another order of things, he condemned “in the strongest terms” the intercommunity violence in several states, which has left hundreds dead in recent months, and argued that “this year, more than 80 percent of the civilian victims” have been attributed to these incidents. “This violence fuels divisions and undermines reconciliation efforts,” she added.
South Sudan has a unity government that was launched after the 2018 peace agreement materialized. The South Sudanese Presidency announced in January 2020 that the parties to the peace agreement had agreed to once again extend the transition period, this time until 2023, to give room for the application of the clauses of the pact, in the midst of international requests to speed up the process.
Despite the decrease in violence due to the political conflict, the country has registered an increase in inter-community clashes, mainly motivated by cattle theft and disputes between herders and farmers in the most fertile areas of the country, especially due to the increase in desertification and population displacement.
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