December 16th 2018 (Nyamilepedia) – Many international humanitarian organizations has urged the South Sudan parties to speed up the implementation of the revitalized peace deal signed in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa in September.
South Sudan government and opposition groups signed a revitalized version of the 2015 peace deal in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa in September following months of negotiation in the Sudanese capital Khartoum.
In a statement issued on Friday, United Nations Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan said South Sudanese leaders must seize the opportunity to achieve peace in the world’s youngest nation.
“South Sudan’s leaders must seize the unique opportunity the recent peace deal provides and work to stop the violence completely, ensure accountability, restore peace and assist the countless victims of this damaging conflict to rebuild their lives,” says the Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan in a statement.
In a statement extended to the media ahead of the fifth anniversary of the conflict in South Sudan, Mercy Corps Country Director for South Sudan, Janardhan Rao underscored that the recent sexual violence committed against 150 women and girls is an eye-opener that indicates that the South Sudanese warring parties need to do a lot more in engaging in the peace process and maintaining rule of law and accountability.
“In five years of war in South Sudan, almost 400,000 people have lost their lives.
Recent findings from the Interim report of the Panel of Experts on South Sudan have
shown that there are continued and alarming levels of sexual and gender-based
violence, food insecurity and grave human rights abuses in the country,” it said in the statement.
“The recent sexual violence against women and girls was abhorrent and underscores that we have a long way to go to ensure that all parties meaningfully engage in the peace process and ensure rule of law and accountability,” the statement added.
Fort his part, the Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Humanitarian Coordinator and UNDP’s Resident Representative in South Sudan, Alain Noudéhou said during a speech to humanitarian agencies and donor partners at the launching of the 2019 Humanitarian Response Plan on South Sudan that the implementation of the regional emergency response plan requires an environment where humanitarian responders are not targeted.
“The effective implementation of the plan will require a peaceful environment where humanitarian actors have consistent and unimpeded access and are not targeted by violence. I call on all the signatory parties to the peace agreement to stay the course to ensure its successful implementation” he said.
Oxfam International country director for South Sudan, Ranjan Poudyal, for his part also urged the conflicting parties to seize the opportunity and use it in promoting peace in the country so the South Sudan populatio enjoy peace after morethan five years of suffering.
“The progress made at the peace table must be sustained and built on. The ordinary people who have suffered the worst of the conflict must gain the benefits of peace. The country’s leaders must make clear commitments to invest any recovery in the economy in communities,” he said in a statement seen by the Nyamilepedia.
