South Sudan's English Daily Newspaper
"We Dare where others fear"
By Denis Ejulu
The United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) on Wednesday said it will maintain close partnerships with the South Sudan government and regional and international partners to realize peace and stability in the nation.
Nicholas Haysom, the head of UNMISS and special representative of the secretary-general in South Sudan, said that peacekeeping in the South Sudan situation entails collective efforts involving the support of the government and the people, as well as the regional and international peace partners like the African Union, Inter-Governmental Authority on Development and the Reconstituted Joint Monitoring and Evaluation Commission.
“These strong and enduring partnerships are more important than ever, as we confront a growing catalog of challenges across all fronts, economic, humanitarian, and political and security,” Haysom said during celebration of the 76th International Day of UN Peacekeepers in Juba.
Haysom said that the 18,000 civilian and uniformed peacekeepers in the country are playing a wide range of tasks like protecting civilians, deterring violence, facilitating the safe delivery of humanitarian aid, monitoring and investigating human rights violations and abuses, and bringing communities together to reconcile and resolve conflicts, supporting political processes and election preparations and helping to secure peace and progress.
UNMISS plans to build 23 courts, prisons, police stations and training centers this year, Haysom said, adding that they will also deploy mobile courts to bring justice to communities where it has been missing for too long.
“UNMISS engineers are also building vital infrastructure, including repairing 2,000 kilometers of roads, maintaining 80 kilometers of dikes and berms protecting 300,000 flood-stricken people in Bentiu, and constructing new schools, health care centers, water points, police stations, courts and other facilities,” he disclosed.
Losuba Ludoro Wongo, South Sudan’s minister for federal affairs, said UNMISS since its establishment has been carrying out its mandate to protect civilians and satisfactorily reduce violence across the country.
Over 650,000 people including returnees and Sudanese refugees have sought refuge in South Sudan since fighting erupted in April 2023 between the Sudan Armed Forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces.
