Press Conference: UN Security Council delegation concludes South Sudan visit pt.5

Press Conference: UN Security Council delegation concludes South Sudan visit pt.5

The Transitional Government of National Unity – TGoNU has accepted the deployment of the deployment of the regional protection force, as part of the UN Mission in South Sudan.

The announcement was made on Sunday, in a joint communique issued at the end of a meeting between President Salva Kiir and the UN Security council delegation.

Cabinet affairs Minister, Martin Elia Lomuro, read out the communique to the press saying acceptance of the Regional protection force is aimed at improving the security situation.

The UN Security Council recently voted in favor of the deployment of a regional protection force in the South Sudanese capital, Juba, to provide protection to civilians.

According to the Joint Communique, the troop contributing countries, the UN mission in South Sudan and the Transitional Government of National Unity have agreed to continue working on the modalities of deployment, and to build upon the consultations that have been taking place in recent months.

Elia Lomuro said that the Transitional Government of National Unity has also committed to permit free movement to UNMISS in conformity with its mandate to protect civilians.

“Government has also committed to improve humanitarian access as provided for in the agreement , by providing assistance in eliminating illegal check points and by reviewing modalities for streamlining bureaucratic processes and access to populations in need,” said Martin Elia Lomuro.

The Council has, in its recent Resolution, expressed grave alarm over the security situation and the ongoing violence in the country, as well as the dire humanitarian consequences for the people of the country.

According to the minister, the Transitional Government of National Unity has committed to devising a plan on concrete steps to remove impediments to the UNMISS ability to implement its mandate. This plan is expected by end of September 2016.

He explained that such steps would include a review of procedures related to movement of UNMISS and streamlining the bureaucratic processes.

UNMISS on the other hand has committed to inform the TGoNU about the movements and of any other details.

The communique further states that the Transitional Government of National Unity has expressed its readiness to implement chapter 5 of the agreement on the resolution of the conflict in the republic of South Sudan.

“The TGoNU will work with African Union in Setting up the Hybrid court for South Sudan, as soon as the African union provides proposals for its work.”

Press Conference: UN Security Council delegation concludes South Sudan visit pt.3

“A great deal of what we achieved has been reversed, our greatest weakness was we were not able to get the men with guns to sit together…but we cannot afford to let peace go to the dogs”

Chairperson of the Joint Monitoring and Evaluation Commission (JMEC) Festus Mogae has announced inclusive workshops on the 21st and 22nd of September to address latest developments in the peace process. The meetings will involve participants from the highest levels of government and partners from JMEC, CTSAMM, the United Nations and other international partners.

Listen to his interview with Gabriel Joseph Shadar

Remarks by UN Security Council co-lead, Ambassador Samantha Power, Catholic Church, Wau

Press Conference: UN Security Council delegation concludes South Sudan visit pt.1

Press Conference: UN Security Council delegation concludes South Sudan visit pt.4

Nicholas Haysom, Special Envoy for Sudan and South Sudan 

Mr. Haysom, a lawyer with a long international career, has focused on democratic governance, constitutional and electoral reforms, reconciliation and peace processes, including most recently as the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) since 2014 and Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General for UNAMA since 2012.

Previously, he was Director for Political, Peacekeeping and Humanitarian Affairs in the Executive Office of the United Nations Secretary-General from 2007 to 2012, and Head of the Office of Constitutional Support for the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) from 2005 to 2007.

Mr. Haysom served in the Government of South Africa, including as Chief Legal and Constitutional Adviser in the Office of the President from 1994 to 1999.  He was involved in the Burundi Peace Talks as Chair of the committee negotiating constitutional issues from 1999 to 2002 under the facilitation of the late former President Nelson Mandela, and was the principal adviser to the Mediator in the Sudanese Peace Process from 2002 to 2005.

Mr. Haysom earned a degree in law from the Universities of Natal and Cape Town in South Africa.  In 2012, he received an honorary doctorate from the University of Cape Town.

Born in 1952, he is married and has five children.

The new United Nations Special Envoy for Sudan and South Sudan says it is important for the two countries to maintain cordial relations in the interest of internal and regional peace.  Nicholas Haysom arrived in Juba on Wednesday, on his first visit to South Sudan since his appointment in March this year.  Speaking exclusively to Radio Miraya, Mr Haysom said North-South relations are vital for regional peace.

CE-09 September 2016-Haysom peace 

“South Sudan and to some extent Sudan are poised on very dramatic moments in each country’s history, and you know when one is trying to deal with North-South relations, one has to recognise that the internal situations in the North and South have a dramatic impact on the capacity of both countries to interact positively, but I need to say it is up to South Sudan to resolve the insecurity that is now pervasive.”

Based in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Nicholas Haysom takes over from Haile Menkerios who is now United Nations Special Representative to the African Union.  Mr Maysom says he has a personal commitment to effect his mandate.

CE-09 September 2016-Haysom heart

“I was very deeply and closely involved in the negotiation and drafting of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement so the people of South Sudan and Sudan remain close to my heart.  It is also a great source of pain if the country were to stumble and go through a period of horrible violence and conflict.”

Nicholas Haysom previously served as the United Nations Secretary-General’s Special Representative in Afghanistan and is in South Sudan to meet with government officials and stakeholders.

On Wednesday 21 September, the International Day of Peace, the Community Empowerment for Progress Organisation (CEPO) and its Twitter hashtag #Defyhatenow will hold a three hour social media campaign, #PeaceJam. The aim is to counter hate speech on the internet by flooding its social media platforms with peace messages.

James Badali, CEPO’s Communication and Research Officer, encourages peace-promoting organizations and individuals to post messages of peace and reconciliation online on CEPO’s #PeaceJam Facebook and Twitter platforms.

“We will then collect and share peace messages and short videos on different social media platforms. Together we can send out these messages to South Sudanese yearning for peace both within the country and in the diaspora”, he told Radio Miraya in a phone interview.

Mr. Badali explains that the campaign is needed to “educate the South Sudanese public in general and those who have used social media platforms to spread hatred and incite violence in particular. He is convinced that some of the negative online messaging has exacerbated the armed conflict in the very real reality of South Sudan.

“We need to counter online conflict rhetoric and hate messages so that social media platforms can be used to promote peace and reconciliation instead. That is, in fact, the sole idea behind the hashtag #Defyhatenow”, the CEPO Officer says, adding that “action is needed now, not later”.

James Badali does, however, concede that internet penetration in South Sudan is on the low side. Fortunately, he has worked out a plan to avoid excluding the vast majority of the South Sudanese from the campaign: a combination of social media peace messaging and physical outreach activities will be used to link online communities and individuals with their offline peers.

“We want to share messages generated by the #PeaceJam with communities that are deeply rooted in the bushes and in the villages. We need to try other avenues to reach these people, so we also have an outreach programme that will be going on. The final result will be holding a basketball peace tournament.”