Attachments
Opening Remarks:
Good morning everyone and thank you for coming along today.
And welcome to our Radio Miraya listeners who are tuning in live to this press conference.
I’d like to talk briefly about three key issues:
• The strategic positioning of UNMISS peacekeepers in the Upper Nile;
• UNMISS’ efforts to support displaced people returning to their homes;
• And our ongoing support for the implementation of the peace agreement.
Yesterday I travelled to the Upper Nile, visiting Malakal, Kodok and Renk. I’m pleased to say that the security situation in the area has improved and people are beginning to return to the area from Aburoc, Sudan and other places where they sought refuge during the height of the conflict.
As the implementation of the peace agreement progresses, local authorities tell me that they expect the number of returnees to increase. It is therefore important that UNMISS helps provide a secure environment to support people coming home and so that humanitarians can feel safe delivering assistance to them.
In that regard, we are looking to boost our forces in Kodok where we will establish a new base to support peacebuilding in the area so that people can have the confidence to return. That means we will need to reconsider the amount of effort we put into other areas.
We will, as we always do, fully consult all parties over the coming months, as we make decisions about our presence in various areas, including the Upper Nile.
There is a lot of work to do in Kodok before our presence is fully established. For example, we face significant logistical challenges in transporting heavy equipment, not just for our base construction, but also to rehabilitate the roads and the airstrip. But we are committed to moving as quickly as possible and are grateful that we have the full support of the authorities there.
There is a real opportunity to make progress in this strategically important area. In the past days, we have seen encouraging engagement between Government forces and the opposition at a civilian-military outreach event organized by our civil affairs team. We have also organized meetings between the Malakal Governor and people from the POC.
Other similar meetings are taking place spontaneously across the country which we are also assisting with. We will continue to facilitate these kinds of reconciliation and peacebuilding activities.
The priority for us around the country is to create a safer environment in communities so that people have the trust and confidence they need to leave Protection of Civilians sites and return home.
POC camps were set up to provide sanctuary to vulnerable civilians facing an imminent threat of physical violence during intense conflict. There is no doubt that many lives have been saved as a result.
But POCs are a last resort not a long-term solution. They are certainly not a place where children should grow up if we want them to reach their full potential.
In the past few months, we have found that 95% of the new arrivals at the POCs in Juba, for example, are not in immediate fear for their lives or in real need of protection. They are simply looking to access services and reunite with family.
Our priority should therefore be to support communities and provide services in the areas that people want to return to.
We will therefore work in full cooperation with our humanitarian partners to re-establish services in communities over time rather than continuing to use POCs as a convenient hub for delivering aid or because of a lack of housing.
There is also a fairness issue. We need to ensure that those who go home are not disadvantaged because they don’t receive education and healthcare while those living in the POC do.
One of the greatest challenges is finding land for people in the POCs to return to. This is the responsibility of the government - both national and local. The homes of some people living in POCs have been illegally occupied by others. It is also the responsibility of the government to ensure these are vacated for families to move back to.
UNMISS will certainly do all it can to facilitate the safe return of those who choose to leave POCs and go home. And, as I said, we will work closely with humanitarian agencies on this process.
Finally, on the issue of our support for the implementation of the peace agreement. I was pleased to speak at the recent celebration in Juba and to see parties that have previously been divided by violence coming together in a public sign of unity.
This sends a strong message to the citizens of this country that they are genuinely committed to ending the suffering and building durable peace.
The big challenge ahead is continuing to build trust and confidence between the parties – and between the parties and the people.
That is not just a job for the signatories. All of us – the UN, the international community, political and religious leaders, civil society – need to encourage trust so that peace can flourish.
The UN is absolutely committed to working with all the parties as a partner. We will use our resources and our presence to support reconciliation and peacebuilding across the country.
In terms of the resources that we have, there has been a lot of discussion about a potential increase in the number of peacekeepers serving with the UN Mission in South Sudan.
We have recently had a visit from the IGAD military assessment team and our Force Commander is meeting with the Chiefs of Defense Forces from various African countries as we speak.
It is appropriate that IGAD makes its recommendation to the UN Security Council which is the ultimate decision-maker about the composition of UNMISS and its mandate.
We hope that they will keep in mind the capabilities and capacities of the total UNMISS force of 14,500 that is present across South Sudan which contributes to building durable peace.
Speaking at the Security Council last week, the Chief of UN Peacekeeping, Jean-Pierre Lacroix said that it was critical that any modification to UNMISS’ mandate must retain a single peacekeeping force with one unified command and control structure and the priority of protection of civilians.
It is my real hope that we will reach the day when the presence of UNMISS is no longer required and we will depart leaving our colleagues from the UN agencies here to help build South Sudan’s development.
For me, this will be the ultimate sign of UNMISS having successfully achieved its mandate.
I will finish there and I’m happy to take any questions.
Q & A
The Radio Community: You have mentioned the 14,000 UNMISS troops in the country … what about the Regional Protection Force (RPF), as now in the country there is a need for the citizens to see that the RPF existing and doing their mandate as said in 2016?
My second question is on the voluntary return of IDPs from the UNMISS camps. Is it safe for some of them to leave the Protection of Civilian (PoC) sites and go to their villages? How will they get the services that they are now getting in the PoC sites? Thank you.
SRSG David Shearer: Thank you.
First of all just to start with, the 14,500 that I mentioned is the total number of UNMISS forces on the ground, including the RPF. The RPF is part of UNMISS. It operates under the Force Commander who operates under my ultimate command. All I am saying is that with 14,500 troops, it is a sizeable number, they are spread right across the country and they can all play a part in building durable peace and protecting civilians. As I said before, if there is felt to be a need to increase the number of forces, the head of the peacekeeping department in New York has said that any increase in forces will remain under the unified command of UNMISS. But, as I say, we’ve got a large number of troops here already and what we would like to do is to make sure that they are used efficiently in the work of building a durable peace.
On the returnees, whether people feel safe or not to return is very much their decision – we are not going to close the PoCs tomorrow. All we are saying is that people inside the PoCs which have services and people outside that don’t have services, it is important that we provide the services outside so that people can, if they want to, are not restricted by staying in the PoCs because their kids are going to school, or they can get health services. That should be available outside as well and there should be a balance. Our move over the next few months will be to increase the services outside the PoCs so that people can leave and go home, get those same services, and anybody that is coming back from perhaps countries abroad are able to come back and go straight home, rather than feeling that they need to go to the PoC.
VoA: You talked about increasing or boosting our forces in Kodok where we will establish a new bas, how many, what is the total number of forces you expect to put in Kodok so that they facilitate the safe return of the displaced people?
As we speak now, we understand that there is also a peaceful demonstration at the PoC in Juba here demanding, or protestin,g against the reduction in the ratio of the food that used to be provided to them. This seems to be a repeated kind of thing. I don’t know what is the plan for the IDPs, in particular those in the Juba PoCs? Some have gone to Mangateen but there are still some number that is still in the PoC sites in Juba. Thank you.
SRSG David Shearer: We’ve currently got a small base in Kodok which we have continued on with about 40 or 50 troops. I can’t tell you the exact number we will ultimately have in Kodok but it will be sizably more than the 40 or 50 that we have at the moment. By increasing the number of the forces that we have there, it means that we have more flexibility to patrol up and down the western side of the Nile and to create the environment of confidence for people to come back. We have also been talking to authorities there about the state of the roads and the infrastructure and, if we have a bigger base there, then we can have infrastructure there that can help improve the roads and the bridges and many of the other things there as well. And it also encourages the humanitarian agencies to come back as well. That is the idea of expanding our footprint on that side. And we don’t have a current presence – only, as I said, a small presence on the western side of the Nile at the moment. And it is difficult to get to if we need to. It means that we’ll have something bigger there that we can use.
On the PoC, my understanding of what is happening, and it is happening as we speak now, there is a demonstration going on against the reduction of food rations. My conversations with the World Food Programme (WFP) is that overall food rations are coming down simply because the amount of food that is out there is less and they’ve also got priorities outside the PoCs where there are people who are in critical need of food and they have to prioritize according to those who are most in need.
The other part of the demonstration is the change in the way that the allocations are being given out. Now people will have to biometrically apply for the food which means that they give a thumbprint – everybody is registered according to their thumbprint – and then they get their food directly. At the moment, or as has been the case in the past, people have ration-cards and people are in possession of a number of ration-cards and we are not quite sure where that food is going to. This will mean the allocation goes to those who are in the PoC, who are registered and those who need it and that is very important as well.
Radio Miraya: While UNMISS puts in efforts to support the displaced people returning to their places of origin, recently we have heard of clashes around Yei, especially between the National Salvation Front (NAS) and the SPLA-IO which has led to displacement of more than 7,000 people in Mugwo County of Yei. While security is improving in most parts of the country, what’s your comment on that situation and what should be done?
SRSG David Shearer: Our feeling very much is, and it has also been confirmed by a CTSAMM report that came out I think yesterday or today, is that while the overall levels of conflict across the country are generally improving –the conflict is decreasing, there are two or three hotspots:
Western Bahr el Ghazal is one, there is still some conflict in Unity and, as to your question, Yei in particular, there has been fighting there and it is largely, from what we can see, fighting between the NAS and the IO forces. There has been some progress in terms of the South Sudan Peoples’ Defense Forces (SSPDF) meeting with IO forces in the area – they have met in Yei on a couple of occasions and that’s very, very positive – but in terms of the impact that this is having, obviously, wherever there is conflict, civilians too often become the targets. We have increased our patrolling, I know that the humanitarians have been moving into that area, and we want to be able to increase the amount of patrolling and support into those areas. It has improved a little bit over the last two or three weeks, but we still have a long way to go, and we would like to see those groups put down their guns and move in the direction of peace.
The other issue that we have in that area is the possibility, some way away yet, of Ebola in that area and we want to be able to make sure that people in that area are fully aware of how to deal with any possible outbreak. As I said, it is still a long way away in the DRC, but we need to be prepared and make sure that we are ready in case anything like that should happen.
Star Tribune newspaper: Still on the PoC sites. Leaving the PoC sites is there but what are they going to start life with since most of them have lost their property during the war. Are you going to give them any support?
SRSG David Shearer: This is something we’ve been talking about and I’ve been talking personally about with the government. This is something the government is much better placed to do than us. The government ultimately has the sovereign control in this country. When people moved out of their homes and moved into the PoC, many of their homes were then occupied by other people. It is really up to the government to ascertain and to make sure that those houses are vacated because they’ve got the wrong owners in it and that the people who moved out are able to move back to their homes again. What we would like to see very much is a move by the government to proactively make sure that happens. We can’t expect people to move out of the PoCs if they’ve got nowhere to go. And if their homes are occupied, that’s where they want to go. As mentioned before, some of the people went to Mangateen a few weeks ago – there’s been 4,000 people who’ve moved out of the PoC and moved there. We are talking to the Governor of Jubek about other possible areas of land that people from the PoC can go to – that’s also a possibility. And a third possibility is to provide support and packages for people to move to other parts of the country. We are very happy to help them to do that as well if they want to move to Fangak or Unity or wherever.
All of those possibilities – either moving back to their own homes, moving to another area of land or moving back to places across the country - on the third one, we can help with in particular but the other two, the government has to allocate the land and the houses.
Thank you very much everybody, I appreciate that, and have a good day.