PANAPRESS
Panafrican News Agency
UN: Security Council to sanction South Sudan peace talks 'spoilers'
New York, US (PANA) - The UN Security Council has threatened to impose sanctions
against anyone who undermines the ongoing peace talks in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, to resolve the conflict in South Sudan.
"This is a very clear statement by all 15 members of the Security Council that there will be consequences for those who try to undermine agreements that are reached in the Addis Ababa talks," a UN statement obtained by PANA in New York Wednesday quoted Ambassador Mark Lyall Grant of the United Kingdom, which holds the rotating presidency of the Council for August, as saying.
Ambassador Grant was speaking to reporters in Juba, capital of South Sudan, after a visit by the Council members.
The Addis Ababa talks are being facilitated by the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development
(IGAD).
The statement said that Mr. Grant is joined on the visit, which also includes stops in Belgium,
the Netherlands and Somalia,by Ambassadors Eugene Richard of Rwanda and Samantha
Power of the US.
It said that on Tuesday, the Council members met with South Sudanese President Salva
Kiir and members of the Council of Ministers.
They are also scheduled to meet on Wednesday with former Vice President Riek Machar.
Also, speaking with reporters, Ms. Power described the trip as an "emergency visit" to
underscore to the South Sudanese leadership the importance of compliance with the
Cessation of Hostilities Agreement which Mr. Kiir and Mr. Machar had signed on 23 Jan.
She said the visit is also meant to highlight the importance of organising a governing body in the run-up to the election scheduled for next year, noting: ''The deadline for organising such a body passed on Sunday.
"The international community will not tolerate the violation of the cessation of hostility and the people who spoil the peace agreement people who commit growth violation of human rights must be held accountable."
The Security Council, in a statement last week, strongly condemned reports of ongoing human rights violations and abuses of international humanitarian law, including those involving extrajudicial killings, ethnically targeted violence, sexual and gender-based violence, recruitment and use of children and enforced disappearances, among others.
Political infighting between President Kiir and Mr. Machar started in mid-December 2013
and has since turned into a full-fledged conflict that has sent nearly 100,000 civilians
fleeing to UN peacekeeping bases around the country.
-0- PANA AA/SEG 13Aug2014
against anyone who undermines the ongoing peace talks in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, to resolve the conflict in South Sudan.
"This is a very clear statement by all 15 members of the Security Council that there will be consequences for those who try to undermine agreements that are reached in the Addis Ababa talks," a UN statement obtained by PANA in New York Wednesday quoted Ambassador Mark Lyall Grant of the United Kingdom, which holds the rotating presidency of the Council for August, as saying.
Ambassador Grant was speaking to reporters in Juba, capital of South Sudan, after a visit by the Council members.
The Addis Ababa talks are being facilitated by the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development
(IGAD).
The statement said that Mr. Grant is joined on the visit, which also includes stops in Belgium,
the Netherlands and Somalia,by Ambassadors Eugene Richard of Rwanda and Samantha
Power of the US.
It said that on Tuesday, the Council members met with South Sudanese President Salva
Kiir and members of the Council of Ministers.
They are also scheduled to meet on Wednesday with former Vice President Riek Machar.
Also, speaking with reporters, Ms. Power described the trip as an "emergency visit" to
underscore to the South Sudanese leadership the importance of compliance with the
Cessation of Hostilities Agreement which Mr. Kiir and Mr. Machar had signed on 23 Jan.
She said the visit is also meant to highlight the importance of organising a governing body in the run-up to the election scheduled for next year, noting: ''The deadline for organising such a body passed on Sunday.
"The international community will not tolerate the violation of the cessation of hostility and the people who spoil the peace agreement people who commit growth violation of human rights must be held accountable."
The Security Council, in a statement last week, strongly condemned reports of ongoing human rights violations and abuses of international humanitarian law, including those involving extrajudicial killings, ethnically targeted violence, sexual and gender-based violence, recruitment and use of children and enforced disappearances, among others.
Political infighting between President Kiir and Mr. Machar started in mid-December 2013
and has since turned into a full-fledged conflict that has sent nearly 100,000 civilians
fleeing to UN peacekeeping bases around the country.
-0- PANA AA/SEG 13Aug2014
