Media Briefing by the Special Representative of the Secretary-General of the United Nations and Head of the United Nations Mission in South Sudan Mr. David Shearer
Opening Remarks:
Good morning and thanks for joining me at this briefing.
I’d like to focus on two main issues today…the upcoming annual General Debate of the UnitedNations General Assembly at UN headquarters in New York which I will be attending;I’d like to give you details about two key events taking place in New York which concern SouthSudan;I also want to update you on our Protection of Civilians or POC sites.***
Early next week, I am leaving for New York to attend the General Debate of the 72nd Session of theUnited Nations General Assembly.
The General Assembly is made up of the 193 Member States of the UN. South Sudan, is as you,know the 193rd and newest Member State.
The General Debate is the annual get-together of the leaders of those Member States.There are additional meetings on the sidelines, including two on South Sudan which I will attend. Foryour information, Radio Miraya will be reporting on these events.
The first meeting on Wednesday, the 20th, will assess the current humanitarian situation in thecountry.
The objective of this meeting is to draw attention to the humanitarian crisis in South Sudan and tomobilize international support to meet urgent humanitarian needs.
The UN Humanitarian Office, OCHA, has just released its latest statistics on the crisis … which I’dlike to highlight …. to give you a sense of the scale of the challenges faced.
The number of people displaced in South Sudan rose to nearly four million during the first half ofthis year. That includes 1.9 million who have been internally displaced and two million who have fledto neighbouring countries – one million in Uganda alone.
This displacement follows conflict in Jonglei and Upper Nile, and insecurity in the Equatorias.The total number of people in real need of aid in South Sudan has risen to 7.6 million.
To reach these people – with food, health care and education support – of course, costs a lot ofmoney.
The current humanitarian response plan is budgeted at US$1.64 billion. So far 66% of that fundinghas been received.
A large number of dedicated NGO personnel, many of whom have been working in South Sudan formany years, deliver this assistance on the ground.
UNMISS, as you know, has a key role to play … indeed it’s part of our mandate … to support thework of our humanitarian partners, when needed.
That can mean assisting with security for road convoys for the delivery of relief aid or providing aprotective environment in crisis hotspots where humanitarian staff are working.
I am sure the event in New York will also highlight the importance of ending impunity for attacksagainst civilians and humanitarian workers.
Only last week a driver for the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) was killed when arelief convoy in opposition-held territory was attacked in Western Equatoria. That brings to 18, thenumber of aid workers who have been killed in South Sudan in 2017.***
The second event I will attend in New York is a High-Level meeting on South Sudan which is beingconvened by the United Nations, with co-facilitation by the African Union and IGAD.
This meeting will consider the revitalization of the political process in South Sudan.
What is likely to come out of the meeting?
I’m expecting a solidarity of purpose from the UN, AU and IGAD – for those organizations to agreea stated commitment to reach a political settlement and support the revitalization of the peaceprocess.
I anticipate that discussions will centre on plans for the upcoming IGAD-led High-LevelRevitalization Forum…..the important role it can play to update the Peace Agreement and the stepsneeded to create the conditions for national elections in South Sudan.
The National Dialogue will also be discussed.
The position of the UN is that that the National Dialogue is – and should be – a South Sudan-ledprocess. The UN has provided financial, logistical support and is bringing experts from around theworld to train and advise when we have been requested.
I have made it clear to the Steering Committee we will continue our support so long as the NationalDialogue continues to be transparent and genuinely inclusive – true to the principles they have stated.So, the UN sees the National Dialogue as a positive step in the overall pursuit of peace – as well as anopportunity to inject new life into the 2015 peace agreement.
We hope it can contribute to peace, reconciliation and nation-building.
However, for the National Dialogue to enable free discussion and bring all parties together, acessation of hostilities is required.
This is particularly the case in the coming weeks as the Steering Committee moves out to the regionsof South Sudan. It is difficult to see how it can effectively do its job, if fighting is going on all around.***
I’d like to say a few words about UNMISS’s role in the protection of civilians.
Around 11,000 internally displaced people left UNMISS POC sites around the country since thebeginning of the year. That is good news, but UNMISS still continues to shelter some 213,000people.
We know that the vast majority of those people want to return home, so UNMISS and ourhumanitarian partners are always looking at opportunities to support their voluntary return.It’s important to remember that it is primarily the responsibility of the government to protect itscivilians. However, there are some areas where security is improving and people are voluntarilyreturning home to restart their lives.
We have some good examples of effective collaboration, especially in cases where UNMISS hasincreased its peacekeeping patrols.
Yesterday I was in Wau.
More active patrolling by National Security and the police in Wau has substantially improved security.I spoke to the governor and security agencies of this potential cooperation to accelerate return.We also need to ensure that humanitarian services are boosted outside the POCs and that the IDPsthemselves are ready to return home.
The POC sites were originally created because there was a need, and I’m convinced that we havesaved thousands, if not tens of thousands of lives, by providing that sanctuary.
It is worth restating that our mandate requires us to protect civilians; this includes not just thoseliving in POC sites but also the almost two million displaced people around the country and thosepeople who are still living at home.
UNMISS patrols are continuing to push further into the countryside extending the peacekeepingpresence to places like Yei, where I hope to have by the end of this month a consisten and ongoingpresence, and other hotspots.
I’d like to finish there and I’m happy to take questions.
Questions & Answers
MBC: My question is that last week the US Government issues sanctions against some leaders inSouth Sudan. Do you think this can move the peace process in South Sudan ahead?
SRSG Shearer: Thank you. The sanctions, as you said, were initiated and carried out by the UnitedStates as a Member State of the UN, it is not the UN’s policy. And, really, you will have to direct yourquestion to the US on that note, not the UN. Member States of the United Nations are obviously freeto do what they like but we don’t comment on the actions of Member States.Sankei Shimbun: Do you think there is a probability for a big fighting inside Juba like last summerin future?
SRSG: I think definitely the possibility of a recurrence of what happened in July last year is verylimited. The situation is completely changed from what it was one year ago.
Al-Maugif: My question is on Aburoc. I hear there is fighting around Aburoc and people are beingdisplaced. Do you have any details on that?
SRSG: In Aburoc, the only detail I have is that we had to withdraw, unfortunately, a number of aidworkers early this week because of the fighting. We are still unclear about exactly what’s happeningon the ground in terms of whether the fighting is ongoing or likely to carry on. What we really dohope is that both the fighting parties pull back because there are a number of people, a number ofcivlians, in Aburoc. Obviously, the civilians that the humanitarian organisations had been helping. Ihave been there and visited that area and the overwhelming number of them are women and childrenand older people. So, I would like the warring parties to pull back and allow those people to the safesanctuary that they deserve and they need.
Bloomberg: We have seen of recent these talks about elections coming up. About a week ago, theGovernment said that they are ready to hold the elections at the end of this Transitional Period nextyear whether there is crisis in the country or not because so many people have had elections even incrisis. As the UN, how do you look at this? What advice could you give? Can the elections be crediblewith crisis still in the country?
SRSG: In June, I spoke at the Heads of State meeting for IGAD and we said that it is important thatelections are held where free and fair elections can take place for them to be credible elections andfor them to be able to contribute to resolving the conflict here. I think if we had premature electionsbefore all the procedures are put in place and before there was real peace, then that would be aproblem. I think it is important that we work through the peace process, that we have goodconditions on the ground to enable an election to take place that can be seen as free and fair andpeople can have confidence in.
Reuters: You talked about your visit to Wau yesterday and you said the security has improved inWau. We understand yesterday that there was an ambush between Wau and Tonj and it is reportedthat several people have been killed in that ambush. Are you aware of that incident?
SRSG: I only know the very barest of details, I am sorry. My trip yesterday was to the Wau town andthe immediate environs around Wau town. And, as I said, it was really to focus on the Protection ofCivilians sites there and look at ways in which we can improve the security so that people can returnto their homes within Wau town. I visited for example the village of Lokoloko inside of Wau.Certainly there are people who have started to go back to that area. It is only two or three kilometresaway from the PoC. Many people are going there during the day time and then coming back to thePoC at night. The focus of our visit was really to see how we could improve the security further sothat people feel confident enough to stay out at night, return to their cultivation and start leadingnormal lives as well. That was really the focus of what we were trying to do. We really would like tomake Wau, as much as we can learn from what’s happening there, and make it an example that wecan use in other parts of the country where we have Protection of Civilians sites.
Juba Monitor: You said this year about 11,000 civilians from the PoCs have gone back to theirhomes. I want to know from which PoCs specifically. Why have they decided to go back? Is itimprovement in the security or that conditions in the PoC sites are terrible for them … what are thereasons?
SRSG: The areas where they have gone back is in Wau – that’s about 6,000 have gone back in Wau.A number have left Malakal PoC and the numbers have gone down as well. There have been around20,000 people who have left Bentiu but, unfortunately, a number of people have come into Bentiu aswell from other places. So there are two things happening here. There is a net decrease but there arepeople leaving and others coming in. What we are trying to do is to be more consistent so that peopleare leaving rather than other people are coming in.The second part of your question, “why”, is the important part. In nearly all cases, it has been anincrease in security that has been the driver which has allowed people to move out and back to theirhomes. There is no doubt people are there for protection more than anything else. Secondly, I thinkit has coincided to some degree with the planting season. People have wanted to get back to theirhomes in order to be able to begin cultivating and planting, so that’s been a driver as well.I think, and let’s not play around here, PoCs are not a nice place to live in quite frankly. I have notmet a person in a PoC that does not want to go back to their homes. Everybody would like to goback. While we provide the basic subsistent services in the PoC, there is nothing like being at homeand being able to live in safety in your own home.
VoA: I have two questions. One is on the humanitarian situation. You did say that insecurity in theEquatorias is still ongoing. I am just wondering how is the situation in the Upper Nile region. Youdid say that earlier this week some of the aid workers are being relocated from Aburoc. How manyare they? Is the situation worrying?The last question is on the Regional Protection Force (RPF). You did not mention this time roundanything about the RPF. When are we expecting the 4,000 men and women in Juba and how manyhave arrived so far?
SRSG: On your first point, yes there is insecurity, as you said, in the Upper Nile and, as we talkedabout before, in Aburoc. There have been clashes there in the last few days. Around about 30humanitarian workers have been withdrawn and were flown out on Monday.Down in the Equatorias, we are still seeing ongoing fighting. Unfortunately, most often that affectscivilians. The ICRC driver that was killed a few days ago was another tragedy. It happened inopposition-held territory and what I understand is that the ICRC will suspend its operations there forthe time being. So the ongoing violence there has continued.That is a real concern to us. Where there is violence, there is displacement and where there isdisplacement, people require humanitarian assistance because they get separated from their animals,their crops and all the things they need in order to survive on by themselves.On the RPF, the current numbers are approximately 650 in the country. They consist of the RwandanCompany that came in about six weeks ago, the Nepalese Company and a Bangladeshi EngineeringCompany. They will be joined eventually by an Ethiopian Advance Company which is comingsometime in October, and then the balance of the Rwandan Battalion will arrive and then followingthat, the balance of the Ethiopian Battalion. Some of the other components are a bit further we’re alittle less sure about when they might come.What the Bangladeshis have been doing in particular over the last few weeks, I will as well justhighlight, that it is an engineering company as I said, they have just conducted a survey of the Juba-Yei road. There are a number of problems on that road including a bridge that has broken and theyare looking at ways they can improve that road. The Rwandan Company has conducted a patroldown to Nimule. We are increasing the number of UNMISS patrols between Nimule and Juba sothat transport, trucks and buses can move more safely along that road. As I said, as we have moreforces, we are able to project out more. So more patrols on the Nimule-Juba road, an increase innumber on the Juba-Bor road, an increase in number of patrols and movement and includingimprovement of the road between Juba and Yei and, as I said before, a pretty much permanentpresence in Yei where there is issues of conflict as you asked in your first question.So they have not been sitting around doing nothing but have actually been very busy. And the otherthing the Bangladeshi Company will be doing over the next few days is to improve the roads in andaround Juba which have become very bad over the rainy season and improve and develop the sitethat has been allocated for the RPF which is south of the UN House. That is some of the progress todate.
Eye Radio: I just have a follow-up question on the RPF. You said next month the EthiopianBattalion will arrive. How many are expected to arrive?Secondly, a follow-up question on Wau. You said the UN, together with the state government inWau, is working on the modalities to relocate 40,000 IDPs back to their homes. Can you give usmore details on that?
SRSG: What normally happens with the way the RPF or any of the battalions that are here work isthat a small group that comes in first to look at the situation on the ground, then a company comes inwhich is one-quarter or one-third of the strength of the battalion, and then the battalion follows.Right now, we are in the situation of having a company of the Rwandans that is here, a company ofEthiopians will come in to sort of set up the bases, and then the remainder of the battalion, probablythree-quarters of the troops, come up after that. That is how it works.On Wau, to be clear, the people in the PoCs was about 40,000 and it dropped down to about 33,000now. Nobody is pushing them out … they will leave voluntarily. I think the conditions need to be inplace for them to feel that it is safe and it is important for them to feel that.As I said, both the National Security and the Police have made quite big efforts to improve thesecurity on the ground in Wau which I congratulate them on. It is not perfect by any means but it ismuch better than when I visited a few months ago. What we have talked about with the Governor isour patrols joining or patrolling in the same places with the local forces there like the NationalSecurity to provide additional confidence for people to come back. Again, it is not like pushing oranything like that but simply being able to start to create the conditions. And when we have morepeople in a community – there is a feeling of greater safety in numbers – and I think that will attractother people to come out as well and we can get a greater degree of normality in place. So it’s acombination of the security being provided by Government forces, security from UNMISS, helpedby humanitarians providing services outside the PoCs, helped by the IDPs themselves being indiscussions as well so they are not just at the end of the line but they are actually involved in that aswell.I think if we can get those four parties working together, then we have got a very good possibility ofencouraging people to go home.
VoA: Just a follow up on the situation in Aburoc. Any idea like how many civilians the aid workershave been serving there and what kind of basic challenges have the aid workers been handling there?The thirty aid workers you did say being relocated, do they belong to UNMISS or to differentorganisations?
SRSG: I do not have the exact numbers of how many people remained in Aburoc during the rainyseason. The last report I had was around about 11,000. It may have gone down slightly since then.It started in May at around nearly 30,000. Some people have gone back to homes and some peoplehave gone to Sudan. The numbers have gone down.Effectively what they were providing was food aid through food drops, some medical support,particularly the lifesaving interventions of organisations like MSF who, I think because of theirpresence, averted many people from contracting cholera and am sure saved many, many lives.The people who were pulled out, my understanding is they were largely international NGOs. Notexclusively, but they were largely international staff who were there on the ground. There were noUNMISS people there on the ground. After we initially went in to Aburoc to provide a sort of asecure environment, UN agencies came in after that. Now for a couple of months we have pulledout. We have been visiting from time to time but we have not had a permanent presence there.