South Sudan official calls for balanced approach to peace

September 23, 2017 (NEW YORK) – South Sudan’s First Vice President Taban Deng Gai told the United Nations General Assembly that the war-torn East African nation now requires incentivising peace and stability by shifting focus to development and long-term projects.

“We cannot continue to clean the floor while the tap is open. The old paradigm that humanitarian intervention is first and development later is not a viable policy in the case of South Sudan,” he said.

Gai, a former rebel chief negotiator now serving in the coalition government, commended efforts of the Intergovernmental Authority for Development, the African Union and international partners to shun and isolate political actors that sought power through violence.

“Nonetheless, we do not wish to delude ourselves that peace, unity and development can be achieved overnight,” he told the UN General Assembly, adding that “realization of peace takes time.”

He, however, said South Sudan would redouble its efforts to improve access for humanitarian access, but hopes the international community will recalibrate development and humanitarian support.

Tens of thousands of people have been killed and millions displaced in South Sudan’s civil, which broke out in 2013 due to political disagreements in the ruling Sudan People’s Liberation Movement.

According to the South Sudanese First Vice President, peace in the country can only be achieved through “home grown” solutions.

“We need to give an opportunity for peace to all South Sudanese which will enable them to choose their own leaders through free, fair and credible elections,” he further stressed.

Acknowledging the fact that millions of the country’s citizens have been displace due to the ongoing civil war in the young nation, Gai said the national dialogue initiative announced by President Salva Kiir was making progress.

South Sudan’s civil war is a conflict in South Sudan between government troops and the armed opposition forces. In December 2013, President Salva Kiir accused his former deputy Riek Machar and 10 others of attempting a coup d’état. The conflict has killed tens of thousands of people.

(ST)