U.S official calls for dialogue among South Sudan leaders

JUBA, South Sudan

A top security official at the U.S aid arm (USAID) has urged South Sudan’s principal leaders to engage in dialogue, saying it attracts external support, builds trust and confidence required in the peace implementation process.

Colin Thomas-Jensen, the national security director at USAID told reporters in the capital,  Juba on Friday that a direct dialogue among principal leaders, starting with President Salva Kiir, First Vice President Riek Machar and all members of the presidency will send a positive signal of commitment and seriousness to implement the agreement and assurance for genuine and peaceful elections.

Accompanied by the acting assistant administrator of USAID, Mark Billera, the senior security official was on a visit to the East African nation from 21-24 May.

“I came to  Juba May 21-24 with my colleagues Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Enrique Roig and USAID Acting Deputy Assistant Administrator Mark Billera. “The purpose of our trip is to call for urgent action to create the conditions necessary for genuine and peaceful elections”, explained Thomas-Jensen.

This dialogue, according to the US official, should be inclusive of all stakeholders without exception but must be led by the key principal leaders in the peace process, specifically citing President Kiir and the country’s First Vice President.

“These include addressing the lack of political and civic space, politically neutral and unified forces, and full funding and operationalization of necessary electoral institutions.  To achieve this, we urge the launch of direct dialogue among transitional government leaders, including President Kiir, First Vice President Machar, and all members of the presidency, to make genuine and peaceful elections possible,” stated Thomas-Jensen.

Such a dialogue, he said, would send an important signal to the South Sudanese people and to donor countries that South Sudan’s leaders are committed to peace and the rejection of violence as a tool for political competition.

The official appealed to the  Juba government to ensure the full and immediate implementation of tax exemptions for the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS), UN agencies, humanitarian organizations and diplomatic missions.

“Those who seek to impose taxes, fees, and other inappropriate costs on humanitarian assistance are diverting aid away from South Sudanese people in need,” stressed Thomas-Jensen.

“U.S. engagement in South Sudan began decades ago.  Its endurance is based on values including peace, human rights, democracy and people’s right to choose leaders who respond to needs of the South Sudanese people,” he added.

South Sudan is due to hold its first general elections in December 2024 in compliance with the provisions under the 2018 revitalized peace agreement, but observers and political opposition leaders have pointed out a need to implement key provisions in the agreement, including full implementation of the security arrangements, among other issues to create an enabling environment for the conduct of elections.