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November 11, 2019 (NEW YORK) - The United Nations Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres has welcomed the decision of the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD) Council of Ministers to extend the pre-transitional period in South Sudan for an additional 100 days.
- António Guterres (Photo Reuters/ Denis Balibouse)
The Secretary-General, his deputy spokesperson said, urged the parties to use this extension to make further progress on critical benchmarks, including security arrangements and the number and boundaries of states, to allow for the formation of an “inclusive” government of national unity.
“The Secretary-General also urges the Government of South Sudan to support the process by releasing the pledged amount of $100 million through a transparent and accountable mechanism,” the statement reads in part.
The Secretary-General further re-affirmed the critical importance of the role of IGAD and the African Union in South Sudan’s political process, and the continued readiness of the United Nations to support their efforts.
On Thursday last week, President Salva Kiir and opposition leader Riek Machar agreed at a meeting held in Uganda, to delay key benchmarks in the peace accord by 100 days.
Uganda’s Yoweri Museveni chaired the meeting, also attended by the head of Sudan’s Sovereign Council Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and Kenya’s Special Envoy to South Sudan, Kalonzo Musyoka.
The delay in forming a transitional national unity government by November 12 came after the main opposition group threatened to opt-out of the deadline, saying the country’s security arrangements are incomplete.
South Sudan descended into civil war in mid-December 2013 when President Kiir accused his former deputy Machar of plotting a coup, allegations he dismissed.
In September last year, the country’s rival factions signed a revitalized peace deal to end the civil war that killed tens of thousands of people and displaced millions.
(ST)
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