25 May, 2017
"President Kiir this Monday once again declared a unilateral ceasefire and said he has once again agreed to consider the release of political prisoners". U.N. South Sudan envoy David Shearer welcomed the announcements, but warned they would be closely scrutinized.
David Shearer told the U.N. Security Council that while the rains may bring a respite to large-scale military maneuvers, they greatly complicate the delivery of humanitarian aid and bring "the inevitable specter of cholera", with 7,700 cases already reported.
Kiir declared the unilateral ceasefire as he launched a national dialogue, a controversial bid to end a civil war that excludes his rival former vice president Riek Machar.
South Sudan's United Nations envoy Joseph Mourn Malok told council members the cease-fire is meant to create an inclusive environment for the national dialogue and to allow the movement of humanitarian aid to famine-hit areas. In an email interview, Brian Adeba, associate director of policy at the Enough Project, describes that outreach and explains why the U.S.is still in a position to exert pressure on South Sudan's government.
"There is war, there is starvation, our peacekeepers are operating in very, very hard conditions", new United Nations peacekeeping chief Jean-Pierre Lacroix told reporters.
But the possibility of imposing an arms embargo to stem the violence still appeared beyond reach, as veto-wielding member Russian Federation expressed its long-held opposition to such a measure.
The departure of the Japanese peacekeepers is also a setback for global support of South Sudan's government. While this will force a reduction in fighting, it will increase the challenge to humanitarian workers in getting aid to those in dire need, including in two counties that have already been declared starvation zones.
Shearer said these announcements are "very welcome" but "the proof of the pudding, as they say, is in the eating".
Since taking over the chairmanship in March, Mr Faki has been in talks with the AU High Representative for South Sudan, former Malian president Alpha Oumar Konare, on a new initiative that would involve Igad and the UN.
He also called for a "coherent and unified regional position" to aid political developments in the country, noting that Governments in the region hold "significant influence" on political developments to end the three-year war but are not communicating the same message.
