South Sudan accuses UN of hampering peace implementation

JUBA — South Sudan government on Thursday accused the UN Security Council of hampering and delaying the implementation of the revitalized peace agreement.

The deal, officially dubbed as Revitalized Agreement for Resolution of Conflict in South Sudan (R-ARCISS), was signed in September 2018 to end a five-year-old conflict that had been fought largely on ethnic lines.

But the parties, notably the SPLM-IG under President Salva Kiir, and SPLM-IO under First Vice President Riek Machar, have traded blames over delays in the deal’s implementation.

Speaking during the 33rd R-JMEC monthly meeting in Juba on Thursday, information minister Michael Makuei Lueth said the international community, including the UN Security Council, is responsible for the delay of the peace implementation for refusing to lift the arms embargo.

Makuei who is also the government spokesman said his government has graduated and deployed the Necessary Unified Forces (NUF) without arms due to international pressure.

Makuei said the deployment without arms put the forces at risk.

“Some members of the international community are responsible for the delay of the implementation of the peace agreement. One of them is the Security Council which passed the arm embargo,” he said.

“If they (UN Security Council) are genuine and want us to implement the agreement and this unified forces perform their function and duties, then the arm embargo should be lifted,” he said.

The senior government official empathized that the arms embargo challenges government efforts in disarming civilians, who he said are heavily armed more then the army.

“Without a gun carrying a stick is not a soldier, is even worst than the civilians,” Makuei stated.

The UN first imposed the arms embargo embargo in 2018.

The international measure meant to reduce arms import and reduce violence in the world’s youngest country has since been renewed every year.