Activities of Secretary-General in South Sudan, 25 February

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon flew on Thursday, 25 February, from Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo, to Juba, South Sudan.

Upon arrival, he met at Juba’s airport with Festus Mogae, former President of Botswana and Chairperson of the Joint Monitoring and Evaluation Commission of the Peace Agreement on South Sudan, with whom he discussed the current state of implementation of the peace agreement signed in August 2015.

The Secretary-General then met with President Salva Kiir of South Sudan, telling him that South Sudan leaders must finally work together and stressing the urgency of forming a Transitional Government of National Unity.

Following that meeting, the Secretary-General spoke with representatives of the international community working in South Sudan and addressed the United Nations staff present in the country, including contingent commanders of the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS).

The Secretary-General then spoke by phone with Riek Machar, former Vice-President and leader of the opposition.  He also urged him to fully implement the peace agreement and to act in the interest of the Sudanese people.

At the UNMISS protection of civilians site POC3, the Secretary-General visited a school, encouraging the children and students to study in order to become agents of change for South Sudan and reiterating United Nations support to the population.

He concluded his visit to South Sudan with a press conference where he denounced killings, rapes, massive displacement and human rights violations, as well as epic corruption in the country.  He announced the allocation of $21 million from the Central Emergency Response Fund for South Sudan and urged the international community to provide humanitarian funding.

Overnight, the Secretary-General flew back to New York, where he arrived in the afternoon of Friday, 26 February.