On Monday 12 December, the EU expressed deep concern at the escalation of violence and atrocities in South Sudan, which are often based on ethnic criteria, and at the humanitarian distress of some six million people in the youngest nation in the world – which is on a cliff edge and threatened with genocide, according to the UN.
In its conclusions adopted without debate on the side lines of the foreign affairs ministers' meeting in Brussels, the Council of the EU calls on South Sudan's transition government to protect civilians, and calls on all parties to end the violations of human rights and international humanitarian law. At a time when all parties are preparing new military campaigns with the beginning of the dry season, there is little time for finding a solution, the Council states. South Sudan's leaders now have one last chance to avoid war from starting again, to spare their people new suffering and to reach a fair political settlement that is inclusive of their difference, the Council adds.
The Council thus urges all parties to work together urgently with the efforts deployed by the EU, the intergovernmental authority for development (IGAD) and its international partners (IGAD Plus) in order to enable a way out of the crisis. The EU calls on all parties to respect the ceasefire fully and to denounce any speech inciting ethnic hatred.
The Council conclusions say that the breadth and intensity of fighting between the popular army for the liberation of Sudan, the popular army for the liberation of Sudan in opposition and the armed groups is increasing and carries the risk of total break-up of the country. The Council says that the atrocities – murders, civilian mutilations, food deprivation, rape and other sexual violence, the recruitment and use of child soldiers, and attacks on schools, hospitals and workers – are being carried out in many regions of the country. (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)