On behalf of His Excellency President Salva Kiir Mayardit, I stand before the General Assembly to share the recent developments in our country. I intend to do so in the spirit of constructive engagement.
On 9 July 2011, we emerged from a long liberation struggle against oppression and domination. After 10 years of independence, we remain on a path of nation-building founded on the vision and inspiration of our liberation struggle and what we have committed to under the Revitalized Agreement on the Resolution of Conflict in the Republic of South Sudan, which was realized through the support of the United Nations, the African Union and key friendly nations.
While our determination to implement the provisions of the agreement has been impacted by many challenges — above all the outbreak of the global coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic and the limited availability of the resources needed for the implementation of the agreement — it has nonetheless enabled the formation of an inclusive Transitional Government of National Unity, the establishment and operation of local governments and the setting up of the Transitional National Legislative Assembly, all of which are fervently serving the people.
President Kiir launched the national dialogue to complement the agreement while the revitalized peace process was under way. The national dialogue followed a bottom-up approach, conducting grass-roots consultations that covered all the regions in the country and articulated the views and the recommendations of the people of South Sudan, including on the Government that will serve them. The President received the report of the national dialogue in May 2021 and pledged to implement its recommendations, which provide the foundation as we embark upon the process of developing our first-ever constitution.
The Revitalized Agreement and national dialogue are necessary historic steps in our country’s quest for peace, but we are still far from building a nation that can provide essential services and development for our people. As national leaders, we admittedly have made mistakes, which may have disappointed our friends, supporters and the world. We have learned from those mistakes, and I am here to engage in constructive dialogue with our international partners, bearing in mind the lessons and consequences of our actions and, more important, the dreams, aspirations and marching orders of our people on the kind of Government and society they want.
Permit me to highlight a few points on our efforts to bring about much-needed peace, security and development for our people.
First, I would like to acknowledge that, although our independence was the product of the struggle and sacrifices of our people, we could not have won without the political and material support of our friends, allies and partners from around the world. We are deeply grateful to them.
Secondly, I want to assure our friends and partners that we are determined never to go back to war. We pledge to pursue the promises our liberators made to our people. We must ensure peace, security and dignity for all without distinction. We must replace the destruction of war with the productive use of our vast natural resources and national assets for the good of our people.
Thirdly, we fully realize that the responsibility for pursuing that vision is our own as a people. We believe that the partnerships we seek can be accomplished only through constructive, mutually beneficial engagements.
The failure to fulfil the promises of our struggle is due to objective reasons for which practical solutions must be found by ourselves in cooperation with our partners.
While there should be no doubt about the goodwill of President Kiir and the Government he leads to secure peace and the establishment of a just, peaceful, inclusive and prosperous South Sudan, we need to identify and address the objective reasons for those failures.
President Kiir recently stated that it is now time to correct past mistakes and open a new page for building a better future of peace, development and prosperity for our people.
We should recall that, at our independence, the international community pledged to help build the capacity of our infant country in all areas of nation-building. As a result, the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) was created to help establish the foundations of our new nation. However, after the outbreak of the war, that vision was abandoned, and priority was placed on protecting civilians and providing humanitarian assistance. As a result, support for the capacity-building of the State was terminated.
The protection of civilians is a priority. As the Vice-President responsible for the humanitarian cluster in our Government, I champion that cause, but it should not be at the expense of capacity-building and sustainable development. Building States’ capacities to govern responsibly and effectively is essential. It is also necessary to guard against the unintended consequences of dependency on humanitarian assistance. With the constant improvement in peace and security, it is time to transition from emergency and direct our efforts to resetting the sustainable development agenda.
The development of the revitalized national development strategy is the Government of South Sudan’s clear and deliberate road map for accelerating the implementation of our access, while laying the foundations of sustainable peace and the stabilization of our economy.
It is a painful and shameful situation for a country endowed with vast resources of fertile land to be regarded as poor. We must ensure peace and security in the country and redouble our efforts to support those of our people who want to return and are returning to their areas of origin so that they may participate fully in nation-building and contribute to bringing about food security in the country.
At the core of our efforts are our young people. South Sudan is a young and youthful country. We call on our partners to help us in our continuing efforts to develop the skills of women and young people, provide them with jobs and livelihood opportunities and harness their energy and productive capacity to provide them with an alternative to picking up a gun again and engaging in destructive behaviour.
I am glad to note that encouraging steps have recently been taken in that direction. For example, our security forces and their UNMISS counterparts have begun to promote rural peace and security. We will soon unveil a national youth service programme and set up a youth empowerment fund, in partnership with the United Nations Development Programme and other partners. The Government welcomes and appreciates such fruitful and positive engagements.
To fulfil the vision of our liberation struggle, we must use our oil revenues to fuel economic growth through investment in agriculture. We will invest in infrastructure to connect our rural communities to markets. We need the public and private sectors, including foreign investors, to join hands in turning South Sudan’s potential wealth into a reality.
I am glad to report on the implementation of the various chapters of the agreement.
We have formed executive and legislative organs at the national and state levels, in line with the powersharing formulas outlined in chapter I of the agreement.
More important, we have made significant progress in implementing the public financial management reforms outlined in chapter IV. Those measures have met the expectations of international financial institutions and other external partners.
In addition, the constitution-making process recently took a significant step forward through the convening of a workshop that charted a road map towards the drafting and adoption of the permanent constitution.
The implementation of chapter V, on transitional justice, accountability, reconciliation and healing, is moving forward at a relatively slow pace, not for lack of political will but rather for objective reasons that we are addressing with our regional and international partners.
We can therefore say that the glass is half full with respect to the implementation of most chapters of the Revitalized Peace Agreement. Where the glass remains half-empty is with respect to chapter II, on a permanent ceasefire and transitional security arrangements. There is an urgent need to form a unified professional army under one command and control. Security sector reform is the most challenging part of the agreement, as it contains elements at the centre of the violent conflicts in the country.
The parties to the agreement and other stakeholders should continue their dialogue to build the mutual understanding and confidence needed to address and resolve long-standing differences. Building sustainable peace requires inclusivity, collective investment, determination, diligence and patience.
Having celebrated the tenth anniversary of independence this year, the next decade — the Decade of Action to deliver on the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030 — is an opportune moment that coincides with our efforts to develop the country’s economy by investing in agriculture. Moreover, with young people estimated to represent 73.6 per cent of the population, the Government promises to leverage women’s and young people’s contribution to agriculture and economic development.
Climate change has already impacted the lives of at least 1 million people across South Sudan. Torrential rains have resulted in the worst flooding in 60 years and have inundated villages and towns and destroyed livestock. South Sudan has developed and submitted its second nationally determined contribution (NDC), which lays out the framework of its commitments to the Paris Agreement and its contribution to the global effort to reduce emissions to below 1.5°C, despite the fact that it already has among the lowest carbon emissions. The NDC not only places South Sudan on a sustainable low- carbon-growth pathway but also develops its resilience against climate-induced shocks and stresses.
South Sudan contributes more than its fair share in reducing global emissions. Yet it is among the countries that suffer the most from the impact of climate change. We call upon Member States to aggressively respond to the call for action to further cut emissions if we are to avert a catastrophic situation that will be a defining moment for humankind.
South Sudan stands ready to help the world. That is in our national interest since we have the natural resources and capacity to enhance climate mitigation and adoption measures. However, funding those measures is essential so that we join the call for climate financing to be made accessible to developing countries in order to enable us to help the world, while also preventing climate change impacts from reversing our development gains and increasing the vulnerability of our people and country to shocks and stresses.
I am happy to report that the bilateral relationship between South Sudan and the Sudan has significantly improved. We have cooperated effectively to resolve our national problems, positively reinforcing our mutual relationship. There are, however, issues that still need to be resolved between our two countries. First and foremost is the issue of the contested area of Abyei. The Protocol on the Resolution of the Conflict in the Abyei Area of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement between the Government of the Republic of the Sudan and the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement/Sudan People’s Liberation Army already provides the basis for resolving that issue.
Unfortunately, we disagree on the implementation of the Abyei Protocol and have entered into several additional agreements without a final solution. Now Khartoum has called for the withdrawal of Ethiopian forces from the United Nations Interim Security Force
for Abyei. Any alternative arrangements will take time and leave a dangerous security gap in the Area. That issue can be resolved peacefully through an arrangement that will give the Abyei people their freedom and dignity. Moreover, that will enable them to play a positive role at the border between the two Sudans.
We are determined to learn from the past and look forward to engaging in a constructive dialogue, revitalizing cooperation and being more effective in pursuing our shared objectives. We must make the Revitalized Peace Agreement succeed, and we can do that only with the support of our regional and international partners. Simply stated, South Sudan desires and is ready to turn a new page.
Lastly, I have come to the General Assembly with the spirit of my late husband, Dr. John Garang De Mabior, and all those who paid the ultimate price in the struggle. It was a dream for Dr. John to liberate his people and address the global community at this very rostrum. Being in the General Assembly Hall as a female Vice-President from an independent South Sudan realizes Dr. John’s dream.