Sven Jürgenson, permanent representative of Estonia to the UN | Credit | Amanda Voisard/UN

The United States and Estonia have warned that the ongoing conflicts in South Sudan will likely erode the gains made in the implementation of peace agreement if not immediately addressed.

The two countries told the UN Security Council meeting on Tuesday that the people of South Sudan are facing monumental challenges as they confront both escalating violence and the coronavirus pandemic.

They said the situation has worsened due to lack of access to primary healthcare services, overcrowding in displacement camps – coupled with poor access to safe drinking water and sanitation.

The two Security Council member countries expressed serious concerns over the increase in intercommunal violence, including the use of military-grade weapons and tactics, in addition to widespread sexual and gender-based violence.

The Political Coordinator of the United States Mission to the UN, Rodney Hunter, called for urgent implementation of the security arrangements and the immediate appointment of state governors.

He said the US expects South Sudan’s leaders to govern together as one government, and work in the best interest of its citizens.

“A government working together would respond immediately to address outbreaks of violence anywhere in the country,” Hunter told the UNSC.

On Tuesday, President Salva Kiir set up a team tasked with looking into the conflict in greater Jonglei.

However, findings of a similar committee headed up by the then FVP Taban Deng Gai in 2017 were not publicized and no attraction was taken.

“A government working together would look to UNMISS and the UN as a valuable partner not only in providing safety and security for its citizens but also in addressing the coronavirus crisis,” added.

For his part, the Permanent Representative of Estonia to the UN said it is important to appoint governors with no human rights records.

Sven Jürgenson stated that this will send a clear signal that grave human rights violations have no place in South Sudan’s public administration.

He urges the government of South Sudan to open investigation and prosecute individuals bearing the primary responsibility for the ongoing violence across the country

The representatives of the United States and Estonia further called on the IGAD to appoint a permanent and empowered Chairperson of the Reconstituted Joint Monitoring and Evaluation Commission, R-JMEC.

They said an African political leadership is essential to drive the peace process forward and end the violence as the Security Council can no longer tolerate any setbacks in the peace process.