Govt urges South Sudan leaders to hasten peace talks
What you need to know:
- The Kenyan government’s position followed a warning by the US on Tuesday that South Sudan’s leaders will be held accountable if they don’t reach a political deal soon.
- In May this year, the two sides signed a pact to stop fighting but it was immediately broken after violence resumed.
- South Sudan warring leaders have agreed on a number of issues but security and governance structure remains unresolved.
- Kenya says that its generally happy with the outcome of negotiations although the two unresolved issues are the most important
The Kenyan government has urged the warring South Sudan leaders to hasten ongoing peace talks in order to bring lasting peace to the country.
Foreign Affairs Cabinet Secretary Amina Mohamed on Wednesday said Kenya and the region are generally happy with the progress made by South Sudanese leaders to negotiate but added that peace talks should not go on forever.
“I can’t see negotiations continuing for much longer without progress. We had a communiqué that was issued in November and that communiqué was very clear — we make progress or if not, we put in place measures to make sure that progress is made,” she told journalists in Nairobi.
“We will be looking to Addis to see how much progress is made, and we had meetings here in Nairobi during the Northern Corridor conference (last week) to just re-emphasise the decision we had taken in Addis in November.”
Ms Mohamed was speaking to reporters after launching the South Sudan Refugee Plan for 2015, an appeal by 39 aid agencies to raise more than $800 million required to assist the 478,109 displaced South Sudanese.
But she was forced to address protracted peace talks between South Sudan's leader Salva Kiir and his former vice-president Riek Machar.
“The measures that we are putting in place are meant to encourage the parties to reach agreement and to give us a way forward,” she said.
“Everybody is engaged and we are hoping that there will be some way forward, hopefully before the end of the year. We probably won’t have a complete outcome before the end of the year but we will make some progress.”
HELD ACCOUNTABLE
The Kenyan government’s position followed a warning by the US on Tuesday that South Sudan’s leaders would be held accountable if they don’t reach a political deal soon.
“We are equally prepared to work with the international community, including the UN Security Council, to hold political spoilers and human rights abusers accountable,” US Ambassador to the United Nations Samantha Power said in a statement.
“Its political and military leaders must demonstrate courage and lead the nation out of this horrific, self-inflicted, and pointless cycle of violence. If they do not take the necessary steps for peace, they will own the responsibility for war and mass atrocity.”
Monday marked a year since South Sudan, the world’s youngest nation, descended into chaos. It started after delegates of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM) allied to Kiir disagreed with those supporting Machar.
The incident escalated to fighting among soldiers that then spread through the country along ethnic lines pitting the Dinka (Kiir’s tribe) against Machar’s Nuer group.
BROKEN AGREEMENTS
Since then, there have been numerous efforts by the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (Igad) to bring the two sides to an agreement.
In May this year, the two sides signed a pact to stop fighting, but it was immediately broken after violence resumed.
They would agree to another agreement in August but it has intermittently been broken.
The two sides have only recently gone back to the table after Igad member states warned in November that there would be sanctions against those who violate the cessation of hostilities.
Igad, which has been pushing for a shared temporary government ahead of fresh elections, recently gave the parties time to “consult with their constituents” on the issue.
Igad is composed of Kenya, Uganda, Ethiopia, Somalia, Djibouti, Sudan and South Sudan itself.
CALLED FOR SANCTIONS
Human rights groups including Amnesty International, Committee to Protect Journalists, Assistance Mission for Africa and eight South Sudanese organisations had called on the regional body to impose sanctions.
The United Nations estimates that at least 12,000 people have been killed since December last year.
More than two million people are in need of relief while at least 120,000 have been displaced from their homes. Aid agencies say they spent $658 million on the crisis this year and will now require $809 million in 2015, according to the UN.
