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July 18, 2018 (JUBA) – The French ambassador to South Sudan, Jean-Yves Roux was on Tuesday summoned over statements he made in relation to a United Nations report on human rights violations in Unity state.

South Sudanese ambassador Baak Wol (courtesy photo)

The French envoy allegedly warned that South Sudan was on the verge of collapse and that there was urgent need to end violence, after a recent UN report documented horrendous human rights violations against civilians by the army and its allied forces between April and May in parts of Unity state.

At least 232 civilians were killed, including 35 children, 120 women and girls gang-raped in front of their family members and 132 women and girls abducted, according to extracts of the report.

But South Sudan government summoned the French ambassador to the war-torn nation to formally lodge a complaint over his remarks.

The undersecretary in South Sudan's foreign ministry, Valentino Baak Wol said remarks made by the French envoy were “undiplomatic”.

“We have told him in the strongest terms possible that what he did was wrong,” Wol told reporters in the capital, Juba on Tuesday.

The foreign affairs ministry, the official further disclosed, sent a “note of protest” to the French government to “advise” its representative to South Sudan “to desist from such undiplomatic practices”.

“We shared with him [Roux] a protest note that was prepared by the ministry of foreign affairs based on a statement that he has made publically on Saturday, 14 July, during the celebration of the French National Day,” said Wol.

The official also accused the French diplomat of attacking South Sudan government using what he called a “discredited” report.

“In our opinion as a government, the UN report is bias,” he further stressed.

France was one of the countries that recognized South Sudan's independence on 9 July 2011, but had representation to the autonomous South Sudan government since 2006.

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July 18, 2018 (JUBA) - The United Kingdom minister for Africa, Harriett Baldwin has urged all warring parties in South Sudan to find an urgent solution to the conflict causing extreme suffering across the country.

The United Kingdom minister for Africa, Harriet Baldwin (Getty)

Baldwin, recently in the war-torn nation, said the UK will not tolerate ongoing human rights abuses happening in the country, and urged South Sudan's leaders to demonstrate their commitment to peace through abiding by the ceasefire they signed in Khartoum.

“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,” said Baldwin.

She added, “We will not abandon the people of South Sudan and their hopes for a peaceful future, which is why we're working to bring stability to the whole region, and provide the next generation with the skills they need to begin to rebuild their country”.

At a meeting with the country' first vice president, Taban Deng Gai, the senior UK official handed over a copy of a United Nations report on the indiscriminate use of violence against civilians in Unity State.

Baldwin also shared with Gai a UN data, showing declining agricultural outputs across the country, heightening risks of famine.

The ongoing conflict in South Sudan is having a devastating impact on the population with up to seven million people (two thirds of the population) said to be in need of urgent humanitarian assistance and continued obstructions are threatening to prevent lifesaving assistance reaching those most in need, according to aid agencies.

Over the years, various human rights abuses, including shocking levels of sexual and gender-based violence, which is having devastating consequences on the lives of the most vulnerable, have been reported.

The senior UK official, however, welcomed the announcement on Friday of UN sanctions and an arms embargo on South Sudan, saying the decision would help hold the perpetrators accountable.

“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,” said the UK official, adding that, “Meaningful progress will only happen if the perpetrators of violence know they will be held to account”.

The UN Security Council imposed an arms embargo on South Sudan to prevent flow of weapons to armed groups in the war-torn nation.

The members who backed the imposition of the ban believe such a move would help protect civilians, while others raised concerns that the policy would hinder the ongoing peace process in the nation.

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 (UNMISS).

UK aid is supporting the continuation of vital health and education services in the country, including supporting the country's only paediatric hospital, which the UK minister had an opportunity to visit.

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July 18, 2018 (KHARTOUM) - Sudan's ruling National Congress Party (NCP) said it has launched internal discussions to select the party candidate for the 2020 presidential elections.

NCP political secretary Omer Basan said his party held a meeting on Tuesday to discuss major issues on the political arena and on top of which the selection of a presidential candidate for 2020 elections.

He pointed out that many voices within the NCP, as well as other political and societal forces, call for the re-election of President Omer al-Bashir for a third term.

Basan called on all political forces to prepare for participation in the 2020 elections, saying ballots would determine which party will win the trust of the Sudanese people to rule the country.

Al-Bashir's term ends in 2020 and he couldn't run for office again according to the constitution. So, running for a third term requires amendment of the constitution but many in the ruling party or the opposition forces are not supportive of such a move.

Nonetheless, some voices within the ruling National Congress Party (NCP) and its partners in the Government of National Consensus have recently called for amending the constitution to allow him to run for the presidency again.

Also, a group called the National Initiative of Youth Around the President (NIYAP) last December launched a campaign to nominate al-Bashir for a third term.

Al-Bashir several times said that he would step down by the end of his current term in 2020. Even in November 2017, he went to declare his support for the candidacy of the governor of Gezira state Mohamed Tahir Ayala.

But observers more and more are inclined to believe that al-Bashir who is indicted by the International Criminal Court would run for a new term despite what he says.

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July 18, 2018 (KHARTOUM) - Egyptian President Abdel-Fatah al-Sisi on Thursday would arrive in Khartoum on his first visit since he has been re-elected for a second term.

Egypt's Ambassador to Khartoum Osama Shaltout told the official news agency SUNA that al-Sisi's accompanying delegation includes ministers of foreign affairs, agriculture, defence and water resources and irrigation.

He pointed out that al-Sisi's meeting with President Omer al-Bashir is his first since he assumed office in his new term, saying the visit would last for two days.

According to Shaltout, the two sides would discuss a number of political and trade issues as well as regional and international threats and challenges including the situation in South Sudan, Libya, Palestine and Syria besides security of the Red Sea and water security.

The Egyptian envoy added the two presidents would also discuss ways to promote bilateral relations particularly after forming the presidential committee between the two countries.

He said relations between the two countries have been boosted further during the past period, pointing to activation of a number of agreements including the opening of border crossings and building of electricity interconnection as well as security, economic, trade and parliamentary cooperation.

The tumultuous relations between Sudan and Egypt experienced last December a new crisis over media attacks against al-Bashir after a visit of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to Sudan. Also, Sudan accused Egypt and Eritrea of supporting rebel groups to attack Kassala State on the eastern border.

However, the two countries recently developed joint security cooperation against the opposition groups from both sides.

The main differences between the two neighbours remain the dispute over the border triangle area of Halayeb and the construction of Ethiopian Grand Renaissance Dam that Sudan backs.

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July 18, 2018 (JUBA) - South Sudanese government delegation said it had not yet taken a decision on the "problematic" draft agreement on the governance but stressed that they would not initial it on Thursday due to the visit of Egyptian President to Khartoum.

On Wednesday, the negotiating delegations of the parties to the Khartoum Round of peace revitalization process received a new draft Agreement on Outstanding Issues of Governance.

Also, the delegations met with the mediators who asked them not to submit any new observations.

In his daily briefing on the talks, Government Spokesperson Michael Makuei Lueth said their negotiating team still has some observations on the draft agreement because no changes have been done on the text they got on Monday.

"As I stated early it is likely to be even more problematic than the provisions of the revitalized bridging proposal in Ethiopia," he added.

The information minister stressed that at this level of responsibilities, the decision to accept the text of not should be taken by the leadership in Juba and they remain in wait for the response of President Kiir.

He further added that in case the parties agree to sign the draft the initialling ceremony would not be on Thursday but on Friday due to the Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi to Khartoum.

The Sudanese mediation said the draft will be initialled on Thursday and the final signing will be on 26 July in presence of IGAD leaders, particularly President Yoweri Museveni whose support was crucial to convincing President Kiir to make the needed concessions.

The text of the draft agreement on outstanding issues of governance remained generally unchanged. Only, the mediation considered an observation by the South Sudanese Opposition Alliance about a paragraph on federalism initially agreed by the parties but omitted by the mediation in Addis Ababa.

Also, opposition delegations didn't issue new observations on the draft agreement on Wednesday. It was reported that the SPLM-IO even said ready to sign the proposed text despite the observations presented by its delegates to the talks.

JUBA RESERVATIONS

Minister Makuei on Wednesday gave more elaborated comments on the position of his government indicating that in term of power-sharing they have reservations on the parliament and the executive.

The draft agreement reduced the government ministers to 35 members and allocated only 20 portfolios to the government. In the legislature, it has accorded important positions at the leadership of the legislature to the opposition groups especially in the Upper Chamber so they can use it to amend and mitigate the bills endorsed by the government dominated transitional assembly.

Also, the government spokesperson said they have reservations on the states level, pointing that in the initial version the power-sharing was only limited to the state government and legislative assembly but now it is extended to all the institutions in the state to include the local government and payams.

"Of course, this is not possible. Payams are set by civil servants. Should they share them also?"

He added that they have reservations on the composition of the Independent Boundaries Commission (IBC) which according to the draft agreement will include more foreigners than South Sudanese nationals.

"This is an issue of sovereignty," he said.

The draft provides the IBC shall consist of fifteen (15) members including Five (5) South Sudanese, one for each party; two by the IGAD, three r of the Troika countries and five from the African Union's C5 states.

The C5 is the name given to five non-IGAD African countries involved in the AU efforts to settle the South Sudanese crisis: Algeria, Chad, Nigeria, South Africa and Tanzania.

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