7 May 2014 - UNMISS had shown remarkable flexibility since 15 December by re-prioritizing mandate duties under resource and safety constraints, UN Peacekeeping Chief Herve Ladsous said today.

Mr. Ladsous, who met several UNMISS and government officials, said he had come to South Sudan as an advance party to UN Chief Ban Ki-moon, but also “to take a closer look at UNMISS” ahead of the UN Security Council’s debate on the renewal of the mission’s mandate.

“The UNMISS mandate has already been re-prioritized to cover protection of civilians, human rights, humanitarian access and political support to the IGAD (Inter-governmental Authority on Development) mediation,” said Mr. Ladsous, who will brief the Security Council on the mission tomorrow.

“I would expect that, maybe with a few nuances, the Security Council will confirm that this was indeed the thing to do,” he said. “Of course we have to wait for a political settlement to look at what it is that, beyond the emergency, needs to be addressed but right now we focus on those basic issues.”

Mr. Ladsous said another ongoing task was increasing peacekeeping troops as approved by the Security Council in December 2013 to enhance protection of civilians.

“UNMISS was configured for 7000 troops and practically doubling the figures to 12,500 raised a number of problems including absorption capacity of the mission and equipment of incoming troops,” he said.

The peacekeeping chief noted that various units from the Democratic Republic of Congo, Cote d’Ivoire and Haiti had arrived through intermission cooperation but there was more work to be done.

He revealed that a Rwandan Battalion from Darfur was undergoing induction ahead of arrival in Juba and final deployment in the Upper Nile capital Malakal, and additional Nepalese troops were also expected.

“By the month of Juba, we will see a very different situation and one that is very necessary (to protect) displaced persons, protection of civilian sites and guard warehouses especially in a difficult food security situation,” said Mr. Ladsous.