South Sudan

The United Nations peacekeeping Mission in South Sudan reports that a military court handed down lengthy sentences today after finding 10 Government soldiers guilty of violence against civilians at the Terrain Hotel in the capital, Juba, in July 2016.  In a statement, the Mission notes that the trial’s outcome sends a powerful message that other would-be offenders will be prosecuted and punished.

During its informal consultations on 27 August 2018, the Security Council Committee established pursuant to resolution 2206 (2015) concerning South Sudan discussed the Chair’s report on her visit to South Sudan, Ethiopia, Kenya and Uganda in June 2018.

Virginia Gamba, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict, will be conducting her first-ever mission in South Sudan between 4 and 8 September.  She intends to take stock of progress and challenges in the implementation of action plans to end and prevent grave violations against children.

The United Nations refugee agency said today that more than 2,000 Somalis have returned home from Yemen since 2017, as part of an assistance programme carried out jointly with the International Organization for Migration and authorities in Yemen and Somalia.  Yemen currently hosts more than 270,000 refugees, the vast majority of them Somalis.

The following statement was issued today by the Spokesman for UN Secretary-General António Guterres:

On 25 July 2018, members of the Security Council Committee established pursuant to resolution 2206 (2015) concerning South Sudan were briefed by the Acting Coordinator of the Panel of Experts on South Sudan and the United Nations Mine Action Service on trends observed and activities conducted related to the flow of arms and management of weapons and ammunition in South Sudan.

The United Nations country team in El Salvador will meet tomorrow to develop a plan of action following the Government’s declaration of a red alert emergency due to the severe drought affecting some 77,000 farmers growing corn, one of the country’s main staple foods.  Eastern El Salvador has reported 33 consecutive days without rain, and record temperatures reaching 41°C.

The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees condemned the attack on its compound in South Sudan's north-western town of Bunj, in which two United Nations staff were injured when demonstrators forcefully entered the premises and looted offices and residences.  Peacekeepers were immediately deployed to re-establish order.

The Security Council today decided to extend its sanctions regime in South Sudan and impose a travel ban and assets freeze on two high-ranking individuals — an act South Sudan’s representative described as a “slap in the face” to those engaged in his country’s ongoing peace negotiation process.

The text of the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration was finalized on 13 July, marking the first time that Member States have come together to negotiate an agreement covering all dimensions of global migration in a holistic and comprehensive manner.