In South Sudan, UN humanitarian chief calls on all parties to work together for peace

“We all need to work together, fast and hard to create peace,” said O’Brien, speaking with UN Radio halfway through his three-day mission to crisis-torn South Sudan, where the humanitarian situation has worsened after fighting broke out three weeks ago in and around the capital, Juba, between rival forces backing President Salva Kiir and First Vice-President Riek Machar.

“There is no better platform for people to have hope, to be able to invest in their future, and to be able to […] to utilize the undoubted assets – not just the people of the country but also the land,” he emphasized.

Noting that though rains had been unpredictable, he said that the land offered a lot of promise.

“There is opportunity for people to fend for themselves and to grow [crops], have an agricultural future [and to] supply others within the country [as well as] to create markets and help everybody start generating the opportunities for prosperity,” he noted.

Underlining that people are compelled to make difficult choices and take incredible risks, such as having to flee their homes when their safety and security or the future of their children is threatened, he noted: “It directly flows from conflict.”

“Just as you and I would, if you can’t feed your children, get them to education, [find] necessary medicines, or have a baby safely if you are [pregnant],” he added, outlining the severe challenges that people have to face because of conflict.

Turning to the challenges humanitarian workers have to contend with on a daily basis, O’Brien, who is also the Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, underscored that access for humanitarian workers and those on a humanitarian mission is a right that is guaranteed under international laws.

He added that conflict had severely restricted aid access – if not prohibited it altogether, in some instances.

O’Brien further emphasized that humanitarian workers are driven by humanitarian needs. They operate on the basis of independence, impartiality and neutrality, and must be given free, unimpeded access to reach all people in need, wherever they may be.

Furthermore, he said that attacks on humanitarian workers or facilities, such as the recent looting of a UN World Food Programme (WFP) warehouse, severely impact the availability of food and relief material for those in need as well as the ability of humanitarian workers to deliver such items to those desperately needing the support.

“[The people who looted that warehouse] have removed the chance for others to survive and to be protected,” O’Brien emphasized, adding that those who committed that criminal act must be held accountable.

The top UN humanitarian official also underlined the importance of partnerships and coordination with the Government and relief actors on the ground, stressing that harnessing such partnership further strengthens the humanitarian support and makes it more cost effective.

He added that by working with the State authorities in order to help them deliver on their obligations and provide basic services to the people of the country, both at the local and at the federal level, fosters the conditions for peace to grow and consolidate.

Such a situation, he said, would allow the people of South Sudan, the world’s youngest country, to build a confident country with hopes for the future.

Photo: IOM/Mohammed

Source: www.justearthnews.com