By Lodu William Odiya
President Salva Kiir Mayardit and the Under-secretary General of the United Nations for Peace Operations, Jean-Pierre Lacroix has discussed initiatives to strengthen peace in the country.
In a statement issued by the presidential press unit yesterday, the two leaders discussed the current peace situation in the country.
The statement underscored Lacroix noted that the talks also touched on the financial challenges facing the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS), which he said has been exacerbated by budget cuts everywhere in the world” the statement read.
“Despite these constraints, Lacroix reaffirmed the UN’s commitment to promoting and supporting peace and stability in South Sudan through the full implementation of UNMISS’s mandate” the statement read.
According to the statement, the leaders shared views on enhancing cooperation between South Sudan and the United Nations.
Since gaining independence in 2011, South Sudan’s partnership with the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) has been central to efforts aimed at maintaining peace, stability, and rebuilding state institutions in the world’s youngest nation.
Over the years, cooperation between the South Sudanese government and UNMISS has evolved in response to the country’s shifting security and political landscape.
At the height of the civil conflict between 2013 and 2018, UNMISS provided shelter to more than 200,000 displaced civilians within its Protection of Civilians (PoC) sites across the country.
These sites became a symbol of the UN’s commitment to civilian protection, even as tensions sometimes strained relations between the government and the mission.
The mission assisted in monitoring ceasefires, facilitated local peace dialogues, and provided technical and logistical support for political and security reforms.
UNMISS also played a key role in human rights monitoring and capacity building for national institutions.
Through its Human Rights Division, it also documented violations, supported accountability efforts, and trained members of the South Sudan People’s Defence Forces (SSPDF) and national police on international human rights standards.
On the humanitarian front, UNMISS collaborated with other UN agencies, including WFP, UNICEF, and UNHCR, to facilitate aid delivery in hard-to-reach areas.
The mission’s engineering units had also rehabilitated roads and airstrips, improving access for humanitarian and development operations.
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