Brussels, 07/01/2014 (Agence Europe) - The EU considers the two immediate priorities in South Sudan are the release of political prisoners and a ceasefire. It underlined these priorities on Tuesday 7 January as fighting continued, and as peace talks between the government in Juba and the rebellion headed by former Vice President Machar continued laboriously in Addis Ababa under the auspices of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD). In Brussels the same day, Alexander Rondos, EU Special Representative for the Horn of Africa, on his return from that region, called for fighters to assume political responsibility in order to put an end to the violence so that division of South Sudan might be avoided and to allow access by humanitarian workers to a country that has been devastated by war since 15 December last, and where the humanitarian situation is “disastrous”. Over 628,000 people are currently in need of immediate humanitarian assistance.
Addressing the press, Rondos said the situation on the ground was very fragile. A political conflict not contained politically has become violent and, in so doing, he said, it has become an ethnic conflict. Unless political normality is restored, it will be impossible to prevent the trend towards the inevitable division of the country along ethnic lines, he went on, stressing that it is absolutely essential that this be prevented. He spoke of the enormous responsibility on the leaders' shoulders, saying that those who triggered the violence must be able to show that they are in control otherwise it will be a “crime of omission as well as commission”. He said it is also up to the political leaders to find ways to allow humanitarian access.
The cessation of hostilities by formal accord and the beginning of an inclusive and credible political dialogue are the goals pursued by the IGAD and fully upheld by the EU, and are the two fundamental issues on the table on which decisions must be taken as quickly as possible, Rondos said. He went on to comment that, if some credible politicians are held in detention, then the dialogue will not be credible. It is in the interest of the South Sudan government to ensure that such persons are released in order to allow them to hold dialogue. It is no longer a question of legality, he said, but a question of survival for the country and of good will. He went on to say that in two and a half years “they have failed to deliver”. If there is the slightest reticence to show good will, then the time will come when those responsible will be accountable for their actions. He warned of the risk that South Sudan, a young independent state since July 2011, could become a failed state, like Somalia.
Since 15 December, fighting has already caused one thousand fatalities and over 200,000 displaced persons of whom some 62,000 have found refuge in UN bases. The risk of cholera is prevalent. It is to be feared that the violence has affected hundreds of thousands of other people in areas currently inaccessible to humanitarian organisations. Unless fighting ceases, it is believed a further 400,000 persons could be displaced by end March 2014. The insecurity caused by the fighting is hampering humanitarian access and preventing the return of displaced persons to their homes.
For 2014, the Commission had made provision for €50 million in humanitarian aid to address the crisis (in addition to the €160 million disbursed in 2012/2013), but this amount could be exceeded due to the population's huge need for food, clean water, healthcare, shelter, basic sanitation and hygiene, and protection. On 2 January, Catherine Ashton, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, urged all parties to the conflict to “give full access to all people in the areas under their control to humanitarian workers and observers”. Alarmed by the reports of human rights violations, she pointed out that “any perpetrators of systematic or targeted abuses of human rights will be held accountable for their actions”. (AN/transl.jl)