



South Sudan: Statement of the Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General David Shearer Briefing to the Security Council on South Sudan (18.12.2019)











The Head of the United Nations Mission in South Sudan, David Shearer, met with Nyarien Ochiek Yot and other families who want to leave the protection site to hear their concerns.
JUBA, South Sudan, December 16, 2019 – Nyarien Ochiek Yot and her five children fled their village in the far north of South Sudan to the United Nations protection site in Bor when her husband was killed during fierce fighting at the start of the civil war.Six years on, her family wants to return to their home in Mankien as peace slowly descends on the country.
But she is nervous about whether the peace deal and ceasefire will hold in the wake of yet another delay in the implementation process.
“The people of South Sudan, including me, are hoping for peace. Peace is the only thing that can make this country stable,” says Nyarien Ochiek Yot. “But I do not trust the politicians and the military because they are the ones that always drag people to peace and, when they see peace, they drag people to war again. It feels hopeless.”
A peace deal was signed by the warring parties in September 2018. However, the implementation process has been slow with the plan to form a new transitional government now twice delayed.
The Head of the United Nations Mission in South Sudan, David Shearer, met with Nyarien Ochiek Yot and other families who want to leave the protection site to hear their concerns. He promised to help facilitate their travel home when they are ready to go but understands their uncertainty.
“People are anxious about the peace process. I think they would like to see more progress and, they told me, you know 100 days is not a long time,” says David Shearer. “We need to make rapid progress. We have to try really hard to put the political will in and move things forward.”
Despite Nyarien Ochiek Yot’s concerns about the peace process, she has enough confidence to return to her home and rebuild her life.
While the peace process between warring groups locally is progressing well, devastating floods that struck the region last month are proving to be another disincentive for displaced families wanting to leave the camps and return home.
Homes, crops and basic services, like water supplies, have been damaged or destroyed by the rising water. Local authorities are asking for help from the international community.
“We need services. We need medication. We need food and plastic sheets as well as mosquito nets,” says Jonglei Governor, Maker Thiong Maal. “These are the things that we need now because, in the country here, we don’t have any factories to produce the goods that we need to cover the gaps. We are very vulnerable and hope the world community will stand with us.”
Humanitarian agencies have launched a massive emergency response plan, reaching hundreds of thousands of people in need across the Jonglei region.
But efforts to implement the peace agreement also need to be accelerated so that people have the trust and confidence they need to go home.
“No one I’ve spoken to wants to go back to fighting. In fact, they’re absolutely adamant they don’t want to fight,” says David Shearer. “I think what we’ve got to do now is take the voices from here and tell those who are negotiating down in Juba to move forward because people want to go back to their homes and get on with their lives.”

ROME/JUBA The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) is in a race against time to mobilize vital funds to feed millions of people in South Sudan as hunger advances on a population in dire need of humanitarian assistance. Catastrophic flooding over recent months is pushing the country and its people towards a precipice as the year ends amid intense political instability.
Up to 5.5 million South Sudanese are projected to be going hungry in early 2020 – according to forecasts from the last food security data prepared by Government and United Nations experts [1]. The number of people in need is likely to increase because of the catastrophic level of destruction caused by floods since October following a drought that hammered parts of the country earlier in the year.
“With all the catastrophes around the world, the last thing we need is another,” said WFP Executive Director David Beasley. “We know the problems that we’ve been having in South Sudan, but the rains and the floods have led to a national disaster and are much worse than anyone could have anticipated.”
“In fact, if we don’t get funding in the next few weeks and months, we are literally talking about famine. We need support, we need help and we need it now,” he added
Close to 1 million people have been directly affected by flooding that destroyed 73,000 metric tons of potential harvests and wiped out tens of thousands of cattle and goats on which people depend for survival.
Humanitarian assistance provides a lifeline in most areas of South Sudan. In 2019, WFP ramped up its assistance to reach 4.6 million with life-saving support but now needs US$270 million for the first half of 2020. Of this, WFP needs US$100 million in the next month to buy and pre-position food ahead of the rainy season in May 2020.
The Government declared a state of emergency in late October in Bahr El Ghazal, Greater Upper Nile and Greater Equatoria because of the floods, calling for international assistance to be stepped up.
Famine in South Sudan was defeated after four months in 2017 by a concerted large-scale humanitarian response. Experts now say the country’s food security outlook has never been so dire.

Government forces have been deployed to the area to restore calm and UNMISS has offered to assist if required.
JUBA, South Sudan, December 9, 2019 – A fresh outbreak of tribal clashes and other internal fighting has reportedly resulted in the death and displacement of civilians in the central and northern regions of South Sudan over the weekend.“These clashes in areas that have been relatively calm for many months is worrying,” said David Shearer, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Head of the United Nations Mission in South Sudan. “The parties in South Sudan have respected the ceasefire signed in 2018 but these intercommunal incidents raise tensions and increase the risk of sparking more serious violence.”
“The shortage of food and access to basic services in the wake of the civil war has put huge pressure on communities. The recent flooding has worsened this situation by destroying crops and pasture which will have a long-term impact on food availability in the coming months,” said David Shearer.
“It is vital that people do not turn to violence as a solution to the dire economic situation or because of political uncertainty. Reconciliation and peace-building is the only viable path to development and, ultimately, prosperity for all South Sudanese.”
Over the weekend, UNMISS received reports of clashes over supplies being transported by barge near Jikou, in Upper Nile. Humanitarian workers were relocated out of the area for their own safety. In a separate incident, internal fighting within the ranks of an armed group in north-western Unity was also reported.
There were also intercommunal clashes in the Lakes region. On 8 December, fighting broke out between the Rup and Pakam communities with incidents of cattle-raiding and revenge attacks taking place six kilometers south-east of Rumbek. Government forces have been deployed to the area to restore calm and UNMISS has offered to assist if required. There has also been fighting at Cuetakuet Island, located on the Nile about 145 kilometers north of Bor.
The number of casualties from these incidents are yet to be verified. UNMISS is working with authorities at the local and national level to resolve these disputes and will continue to support reconciliation and peace-building among the affected communities.








In 2020, UNICEF is expecting an increase in number of children suffering from acute malnutrition, increasing from 860,000 in 2019 to 1.3 million in 2020.
JUBA, South Sudan, December 5, 2019 – 4.1 million children will need urgent assistance in South Sudan in 2020. Years of conflict have destroyed critical infrastructure hindering access to basic services such as clean water, health care and education. Gender-based violence is prevalent and unaccompanied children are at risk of exploitation and abuse. The unresolved political conflict and lack of essential services prevents displaced people from returning home to rebuild their lives.At the same time, the floods affecting 78 counties across the country, have devastated crops making an already difficult food situation worse. Critical infrastructure, including schools and health centres, will need to be rebuilt when the water subsides. In 2020, UNICEF is expecting an increase in number of children suffering from acute malnutrition, increasing from 860,000 in 2019 to 1.3 million in 2020. This includes 292,000 children under five years of age suffering from severe acute malnutrition.
UNICEF is appealing for US$180 million to respond to the most immediate needs of women and children in South Sudan the coming year.
“How can we expect children to grow if the water they are drinking is makes them sick?’’ asked UNICEF South Sudan Representative, Dr Mohamed Ag Ayoya. “While the country is struggling with finding a sustainable and peaceful solution to the conflict, our focus remains on the future which means the children of South Sudan.”
In 2019, UNICEF and partners were able to treat 186,000 children for severe acute malnutrition, provide clean water to some 460,000 people, delivered education to 610,000 children and vaccinated over 430,000 children against measles. Meanwhile, the overall humanitarian funding in South Sudan decreased. For 2019, UNICEF appealed for US$179 million, by end of August just over half was funded. This hampered UNICEF’s efforts to respond to the needs of women and children, including supporting demobilization of children from armed forces and groups and provide water and sanitation to some of the most vulnerable people in the country.
“The only thing that I am 100 per cent sure of is that the children growing up in South Sudan cannot be blamed for the situation in the country. Yet, they are paying the highest price – with their futures,” said UNICEF South Sudan Representative, Dr Mohamed Ag Ayoya. “If we want to see a prosperous South Sudan, we need to continue to invest in the current and coming generation of children, ensuring they are not only surviving but thriving. For that we need all partners and all donors to join in.”
In 2020, UNICEF is aiming at: