South Sudan: Violence continues – the ceasefire must be monitored more effectively!

The Society for Threatened Peoples (STP) called for more a more effective monitoring of the ceasefire arrangements in South Sudan. "The International Community must urgently put pressure on the conflict parties to ensure that the ceasefire agreement will not become a worthless piece of paper. It was enforced three days ago, but the fighting continues," reported the STP's Africa-consultant, Ulrich Delius, in Göttingen on Monday. "The mechanisms to monitor the ceasefire must be checked too. There must be an end to the killings – and the humanitarian aid workers must be safe to provide the people in need with basic supplies."

The conflict parties are blaming each other for the ongoing fighting. According to eyewitness reports, the fighting has become even worse in some regions than it was before the ceasefire. The agreement, which was signed in Addis Ababa on January 23, provided that the ceasefire should have come into effect within the next 24 hours.

"It is still not clear when the planned monitoring team will be ready for operation," criticized Delius. The "Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD)", which had mediated the ceasefire agreement in East Africa, will first have to establish a "joint committee of technical experts" which will then form a team to monitor and review the truce.

Further problems might arise because of the composition of the monitoring team, as the conflict parties do not accept all the neighboring countries as impartial. Also, the financing of the teams is still unclear. Besides, if members of the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) were to be part of the monitoring team, this would cause irritation, because the South Sudanese government accuses UNMISS of taking sides with the rebel groups following Riek Machar. The relations between UNMISS and the government in Juba were rarely as bad as today.

According to estimates by the STP, more than 600,000 people have fled from the fighting since December 15, 2013. About 91,000 people from South Sudan have sought refuge in neighboring countries and 510,000 people are on the run within the country. Several regions have experienced more violence and destruction during the last 5 weeks than in the 38 years of the war against Sudan (1955-1972 and 1983-2004). Serious human rights violations have been committed by both the troops of the South Sudanese government and the fighters who follow Riek Machar, the former vice president of South Sudan.