Statement by Ambassador James Kariuki at the UN Security
Council meeting on Sudan and South Sudan.
Thank you President. I thank SRSG Haysom and Ambassador Biang for
their updates, and I welcome the presence of South Sudan at this
meeting.
President, as we’ve just heard, South Sudan is due to hold
elections in just 12 months. Yet few of the basic building blocks
for a credible process are in place.
The United Kingdom welcomes the passing of the Elections Act, and
the reconstitution of the Electoral and Political Parties
Commissions. Such laws, however, need to be implemented and the
institutions they create well resourced. This requires genuine
political will.
There are fundamental questions for South Sudan to urgently
address including on how the South Sudanese casts their votes and
how many levels of government they are voting for.
For elections to be free and fair, we urge the South Sudanese
authorities to ensure the necessary political and civic space so
political parties, civil society and voters can freely express
views without fear of reprisal.
The South Sudanese population should feel safe during and after
elections. We call on South Sudan to finalise the
deployment of a single, unified national army and to ensure they
are adequately paid and provided for.
As we’ve heard, the fighting in Sudan is having a severe impact
on South Sudan. Over 434,000 people have now arrived since the
outbreak of conflict.
The UK recognises the South Sudanese Government’s provision of
transportation to refugees, and the important work of the UN
system and humanitarian partners in their response to the crisis.
We repeat our call on the government to create a more enabling
environment for humanitarian action, and ensure the safety of aid
workers.
President, in closing, we call upon the Government to demonstrate
its willingness to put aside individual ambitions and
differences. Without this, a credible, safe, and inclusive
process next year will not be possible.
