UN diplomat urges South Sudan leaders to resolve persistent communal conflict

JUBA – The head of the U.N. Peacekeeping Mission in South Sudan, Nicholas Haysom, on Thursday called on political leaders to embrace dialogue to end the country’s persistent communal conflict.

In his keynote address during the RJMEC monthly meeting in Juba, Haysom, who also serves as Special Representative of the Secretary-General, expressed concern over the rise in documented subnational violence.

“Subnational violence remains a significant concern affecting civilians across South Sudan, as documented in our latest quarterly brief, which highlights a 43% increase in the number of violent incidents compared to the same period last year,” he said.

Haysom suggested that dialogue efforts should be structured within a specific framework. ”

“Given the recent extension of the transitional period, it is vital that national, state, and local authorities, as well as communities and their leaders, redouble their efforts to resolve longstanding conflict drivers through dialogue,” he said.

He emphasized the need for the deployment of the necessary unified forces (NUF) to provide security at the state level.

“And agreeing on the middle command structure of those forces, civic education, preparatory work towards voter registration, amending the National Security Services Bill, and developing a code of conduct between political parties,” he said.

Haysom also urged the government to open up civic space to allow civil society, the media, and political parties to exercise their democratic rights.

On October 16, the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) reported that 442 people were killed and 297 injured in subnational violence during the second quarter of this year.

UNMISS’s latest report, released on Wednesday in Juba, noted that 1,062 civilians, including 160 women and 188 children, were impacted; of these, 442 were killed, 297 injured, 197 abducted, and 126 were subjected to sexual violence.

“This represents a steep increase of 43 percent in the number of violent incidents (from 222 to 317), as well as a 22 percent rise in the number of victims (from 871 to 1,062) compared to the same period in 2023,” the report stated.

UNMISS added that these figures also indicate a 32 percent increase in violent incidents (from 240 to 317) and a 16 percent rise in the number of victims (from 913 to 1,062) compared to the previous quarter (January – March 2024).