October 3rd 2018 (Nyamilepedia) – The head of the United Nations Refugee Agency, the UNHCR said the signing of a peace agreement last month by the South Sudan government and opposition groups in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa will reopens hope for peace and stability in the young African nation.
Filippo Grandi, the head of the UN agency was speaking during the 69th Session of the UNHCR in Geneva, Switzerland.
The Head of the UN agency lauded the signing of the signing of the 1951 Geneva Convention by the South Sudan government as well as the deal reached by the South Sudan government and opposition groups in Ethiopia last month saying the deal will re-open the door and offer a prospect of peace in the country.
“In South Sudan, the revitalized peace agreement re-opens the door for some hope,” Grandi said adding that the “International attention must be sustained, and the rights and perspectives of refugees and the internally displaced considered as part of the peace process.”
He was strongly encouraged by the accession instrument signed by South Sudan President Salva Kiir Mayardit and South Sudan’s Transitional National Legislative Assembly in the Capital Juba. He further commended the participation of 16 refugee representatives who were selected from six asylum-hosting countries.
“I was encouraged to learn that the President of South Sudan signed last week the instrument that will pave the way to accession to the 1951 Convention and 1967 Protocol. We were also pleased to facilitate a dialogue in Khartoum between South Sudanese refugee representatives and signatories of the peace agreement,” he said.
He said the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, reaffirmed the importance of the ongoing peaceful dialogue between the parties to the conflict to avoid catastrophic failure of peace deal as witnessed in the past.
“It is important that this dialogue continues, as part of the effort to avoid a new, catastrophic failure of peace” he added.
