



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)









Khartoum, Sudan – The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) Executive Director, David Beasley, accompanied by teams from WFP’s Sudan and South Sudan operations and leaders of the UN country team in Sudan have achieved a significant breakthrough in humanitarian access, by landing in Yabus, a town in the Southern Blue Nile State where they witnessed a food distribution to its war and flood-stricken residents for the first time in nearly a decade.
The UN team included the United Nations Children’s Fund, Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, World Health Organisation, United Nations Population Fund and United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees from Sudan.
Parts of southern Blue Nile State have been inaccessible to UN agencies and most humanitarian groups since conflict began there and in the Nuba mountains of South Kordofan in May 2011.
In October, Beasley used his good offices to support a humanitarian confidence-building visit to Kauda in South Kordofan – the first UN visit to the area in nearly a decade. This followed months of negotiations with the new Government of Sudan, leaders of South Sudan and the Sudan People Liberation Movement North (SPLM-N) leader, Abdulaziz Al-Hilu. Following this visit, commitments were made to enable humanitarian access to the conflict-affected areas of Blue Nile and South Kordofan.
“This is a new day in a new Sudan and a government that recognizes the value and the dignity of the Sudanese people wherever they live and whoever they are,” said David Beasley, Executive Director of the World Food Programme. “We will be doing assessments in all the areas that need assistance over the next few months to help everyone who needs this help at this critical time.”
The first UN humanitarian assistance in the area in nearly a decade was distributed by a WFP-led, UN interagency team. The UN team provided food to nearly 10,000 people in Yabus. This was made possible through the work of UN staff from Sudan and cross-border assistance from South Sudan. The United Nations humanitarian agencies in Sudan will move forward together to provide sustained assistance to address food security, health, education and livestock health deficits in the area.
Yabus and some areas in the Blue Nile State were recently affected by floods, pests and diseases resulting in low farm harvests leaving many of its residents short of food.
The support we have received from Prime Minister, Abdalla Hamdok, Lt. Gen. Mohamed Hamdan “Hemeti” Dagalo, Chairman of the Sovereign Council, Lt. Gen. Abdel Fattah Abdelrahman Burhan and Cdr. Abdul Aziz Adam al-Hilu, Chairman and C-in-C of the SPLM/A-N has been extraordinary.
Sudan’s economic crisis is affecting living conditions and pushing more people into poverty. Nearly 9.3 million people – one in four in Sudan – will need humanitarian assistance in 2020. Around 5.8 million people are food-insecure. That number could rise to more than 10 million if wheat and fuel subsidies are removed. The cost of food has more than doubled in the past year.
WFP and its partners are ready to address rising humanitarian needs, while helping strengthen social protection systems to respond to the challenging economic situation and reduce the impact of planned subsidy reforms. WFP supports internally displaced people, refugees, and vulnerable people through a mixture of cash, food and vouchers. More robust social safety nets are needed to cushion them against the impact of macro-economic reforms.
Additional funding is needed to enable WFP to meet the increasing humanitarian needs across Sudan. WFP Sudan faces a funding shortfall of US$29 million for the next six months. This may increase, given the rising humanitarian needs.
The United Nations World Food Programme – saving lives in emergencies and changing lives for millions through sustainable development. WFP works in more than 80 countries around the world, feeding people caught in conflict and disasters, and laying the foundations for a better future.



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.”

For some today is a nightmare. Not only has Jeremy Corbyn and Labour lost. Not only have the Liberal Democrats lost too, but the Conservatives have won substantial in this election. They have gotten more mandate and more control. This is grand slam victory of Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
That Boris couldn’t win during this year in Parliament doesn’t seem to sink in. The man who has lied about everything and has spewed hateful rhetoric for decades. Still, this man will lead the United Kingdom into the final stages of withdrawing from the European Union (EU). A man who will not take responsibility to show up transparently for interviews nor trying to make a decent figure on TV.
No, the British have fucked themselves and they enjoy it. They will ride this one out with a abysmal people, who only consider the wealthy, the elite and the top 10 richest. This government won’t be for the people, no this for the Eton, the Oxford and Cambridge Elite.
I could lie to you, but I’m not in the business of Boris. I don’t even have any stakes in this election. Only feel sorry for the pro-European and liberals in the UK. You British liberals, you are screwed and you will be that for the coming time. You have lost to a hatful and disgraceful human being, someone who only lies and deceive. Even with that, you still lost.
That says something about the majority of British people, what sort of thoughts they have for themselves. The Merry Poppins and they let Grinch steal Christmas. The Tories haven’t kept their promises before and will trade it all away for some “independence”. The ones getting crushed is the marginal voters, who voted them in. Not the elite that running the Tories. The British public is doing self-harm and content with it.
So, when in the future, when the public cry havoc. Cry their tears of the destruction of the welfare state, public benefits and whatnot. You gave it away to the Tories and the next generation has to fight back to get something they deserve. The public has screwed themselves and they did it willingly.
Now Boris is yours. Now the lies are all yours. Eat it and don’t complain. When you get screwed, over and over again. Know that you made it yourself. You made your bed and now you got to sleep in it.
I pity a fool, but that would be to much sincerety in the era of lies and deceptions winning elections. Peace.

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.

Troika statement on the resumption of peace talks with Sudan armed opposition groups.
The UK, US and Norway have issued a Troika statement:
On December 10 the various Sudanese armed opposition groups met in Juba to resume peace talks. The success of these talks will be critical in Sudan’s journey towards ensuring lasting peace. The United States, the United Kingdom, and Norway (the Troika) welcome the resumption of these talks. It is our sincere hope that all interested stakeholders will join these talks and show a renewed spirit of cooperation, pragmatism, and realism to ensure these negotiations succeed. This is what the people of Sudan expect and deserve.
For too long, internal conflict was waged at the expense of Sudan’s most vulnerable people. Only lasting peace will ensure that the humanitarian and security needs of those in the areas affected by the conflicts can be met and for those marginalized areas to benefit from the changes ushered in by the creation of a civilian-led transitional government.
We urge all sides to support the formation of the Transitional Legislative Assembly and appointment of civilian governors (known as walis) by the end of December 2019. We furthermore encourage all sides to come to the talks without pre-conditions. Progress in the talks will maintain confidence in building a stable, secure, democratic and inclusive Sudan where all Sudanese are equal. It is vital that all sides demonstrate the political will to work together, and engage productively, to find solutions to outstanding issues. If they do so they will have the support of the Troika.

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.

