South Sudanese ‘are counting on us’, top UN official tells Security Council

Referencing the recent quarterly report from the Secretary-General on challenges facing the world’s youngest nation, Ms. Pobee underscored that since March, previous gains in the peace process have been largely eroded.

Military offensives, primarily involving South Sudan’s rival militia which answers to the First Vice President and Government troops loyal to the President, have continued, and trust in the 2018 Revitalized Peace Agreement between the two has been undermined.

Murithi Mutiga, another briefer from the International Crisis Group, explained that the 2018 agreement required President Salva Kiir to work in concord with his rival, First Vice President Riek Machar; thus, the agreement was effectively terminated when President Kiir placed the former Vice President under house arrest on 26 March.

Humanitarian crisis

Ms. Pobee highlighted that recent military offensives have resulted in deaths, displacement and the destruction of civilian infrastructure.

Furthermore, the displacement crisis is a two-way street, Mr. Murtiga explained: the devastating civil war in neighbouring Sudan has driven 1.2 million refugees into South Sudan, straining already-limited resources.

The conflict in Sudan has also disrupted oil flows to the military Government-controlled Port Sudan and the broader market, causing South Sudan to lose most of its valuable oil revenues.

Mr. Murtiga also underscored that this is one of South Sudan’s worst humanitarian crises since independence in 2011, with 9.3 million in need of dire assistance and 7.7 million suffering food insecurity, including 83,000 at risk of catastrophic conditions, all while brutal sexual violence is on the rise.

And funding cuts are leaving millions without lifesaving assistance, Ms. Pobee emphasised. Halfway through 2025, the Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan is only 28.5 per cent funded.

Additionally, challenges to humanitarian access are growing with increased instances of aid workers being attacked, as poor infrastructure and administrative obstacles impede relief efforts.

Call to act

The UN, African Union, regional intergovernmental development body, IGAD, and many others in the international community, have repeatedly called for a cessation of hostilities and a return to dialogue without any concrete response from the warring parties.

“While government officials have publicly expressed their commitment to elections by December 2026, the Parties must take steps to return to dialogue and make the necessary decisions to move the country forward. Declarations of commitment are not enough,” Ms. Pobee stressed.

She urged the Security Council to call on all actors and stakeholders to uphold the peace agreement. If they fail to lay the groundwork for peaceful, credible elections in December 2026, the risk of a relapse into violence will rise significantly amid growing regional instability.

It is the shared responsibility of the international community to work with the South Sudanese parties to avoid such a failure, she stressed. “The people of South Sudan are counting on us.”