I want to start by acknowledging the breaking news coming out of Khartoum where an explosion has reportedly hit a convoy carrying Prime Minister Hamdok.

Female officers of the organized forces in Torit are benefitting from the rapid empowerment through weekly capacity building workshops enhancing their professional standards. Last week’s main topic was “criminal investigation and prosecution”.

Often when I brief the Security Council on South Sudan, the news is not encouraging.

However, today is different. There have been positive developments that have moved the country further along the road to sustainable peace.