Juba: The UK’s Minister for Africa, Harriett Baldwin, has visited South Sudan to call on all parties to find an urgent solution to the conflict which is causing extreme man-made suffering across the country.
During her visit, Baldwin made clear that the UK will not tolerate ongoing human rights abuses happening in the country, and urged South Sudan’s leaders to demonstrate that they are committed to peace by abiding by the ceasefire they signed in Khartoum.
Meeting with First Vice President Taban Deng Gai, Baldwin handed over a copy of a UN report on the indiscriminate use of violence against civilians in the Southern Unity region of the country.
“South Sudan’s leaders must demonstrate that they are committed to peace and immediately silence their guns. The UK stands with the people of South Sudan who are suffering the horrific consequences of this man-made crisis,” Baldwin said.
“The UN sanctions and arms embargo announced last Friday are a strong sign of international support for regional peace talks. I have seen for myself the effects of this devastating conflict. Meaningful progress will only happen if the perpetrators of violence know they will be held to account.”
South Sudan’s ongoing conflict is having a devastating impact on the population. 7 million people (two thirds of the population) are in need of urgent humanitarian assistance, with 2.5 million people having fled to neighbouring countries.
Human rights abuses are rife, including shocking levels of sexual and gender-based violence, which is having devastating consequences on the lives of the most vulnerable.
The UK is one of the top three humanitarian donors in South Sudan, providing lifesaving support to hundreds of thousands of people, and some 340 British military troops providing important engineering and medical assistance to the UN Mission of South Sudan.
Source: UK’s aid agency, Development for International Development (DFID)