The European Union has welcomed the agreement reached on 3 April between South Sudan’s President Salva Kiir and First Vice President Riek Machar on the distribution of command positions in the unified armies and on Thursday 7 April called for the swift implementation of this key aspect of the 2018 Peace Agreement (see EUROPE 12432/23).
“The EU urges the parties to genuinely and swiftly implement the agreed steps, to contribute to a de-escalation of the tensions in the country, especially in the Regional States of Unity and Upper Nile, but also in Juba”, stressed the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell, in a statement issued on Thursday on behalf of the EU27.
“The permanent ceasefire and the transitional security arrangements are key for the long-awaited implementation of the Revitalised Agreement on the Resolution of Conflict in South Sudan, 11 months from the expiration of an already extended transition period”, the statement continued. The EU is also calling for the urgent creation of the conditions required for free, fair and peaceful elections.
The High Representative adds that at a time when South Sudan is facing its worst humanitarian crisis since independence, “the perpetuation of violence, which is leading to a high number of fatalities, forced displacements, sexual and gender-based violence, abduction of children, killing of humanitarian workers and other human rights abuses, must also be urgently addressed by the South Sudanese leadership”. (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)