“Næsten alt, hvad jeg har set her i Sydsudan, bestyrker mig i, at landets ledere er mere optagne af blodige interne magtkampe end at bringe deres forarmede og lidende nation frem mod stabilitet og velstand”, sagde en dyster Navi Pillay efter et tre-dages besøg i Afrikas yngste nation.
JUBA, 30 April 2014: Warning that the world’s youngest nation is on the verge of catastrophe, the United Nations human rights chief Wednesday called on South Sudan’s leaders to relinquish (opgive) their “personal power struggle” and steer their impoverished, war-battered country towards stability.
“How much worse does it have to get before those who can bring this conflict to an end, especially President [Salva] Kiir and Dr. [Riek] Machar, decide to do so?” High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay asked at a news conference in the capital, Juba.
These comments come at the end of a three-day visit to the country by Ms. Pillay and UN Special Advisor on the Prevention of Genocide (folkedrab), Adama Dieng, amid the ongoing conflict between forces loyal to Mr. Kiir and Mr. Machar, the former vice-president.
“The deadly mix of recrimination (beskyldninger), hate speech, and revenge killings that has developed relentlessly over the past four and a half months seems to be reaching boiling point”, Ms. Pillay stated, adding:
“I have been increasingly concerned that neither South Sudan’s political leaders nor the international community at large seem to perceive quite how dangerous the situation now is”.
“Unfortunately, virtually everything I have seen or heard on this mission has reinforced the view that the country’s leaders, instead of seizing their chance to steer their impoverished and war-battered young nation to stability and greater prosperity, have instead embarked on a personal power struggle that has brought their people to the verge of catastrophe.”
Dystre statistikker hober sig op
The conflict, which began in mid-December 2013, is believed to have left thousands dead and forced tens of thousands to seek refuge at UN bases around the country. It has also been marked by numerous grave human rights violations.
The list of alarming statistics is long, Ms. Pillay said, noting that
* more than 9,000 children have been recruited into armed forces by both sides;
* 32 schools have been taken over by military forces;
* there have been more than 20 attacks on clinics and health centres;
* many women and girls have been raped, often brutally and sometimes by several fighters; and
* children have been killed during indiscriminate attacks on civilians by both sides.
The visit by the senior UN officials comes in the wake of mass killings earlier this month in Bentiu and Bor, which have “starkly underlined how close South Sudan is to calamity,” said the High Commissioner.
“The slaughter in Bentiu and Bor,” she added, “was simply the latest in a long list of similar tit-for-tat attacks in towns and villages in many parts of the country, which have increasingly involved armed Dinka and Nuer targeting each other’s civilian populations, as well as foreigners.”
Mødte de to hovedkombattanter
The two officials held talks with both Mr. Kiir and Mr. Machar, during which they stressed the need for credible investigations in the killings and for accountability.
“It is essential that the South Sudanese people and the international community impress on the country’s political leaders that they must stop blindly dragging their people down the path of self-destruction,” Ms. Pillay stated.
Mr. Dieng said they reminded the President and the Government that the State has a primary responsibility to protect all South Sudanese, irrespective of their ethnic, national or political affiliation.
“Ethnicity should not be used as a reason to incite violence or demonise and exclude any community or section of the population. The world is watching. Those responsible for serious violations must be held accountable.”
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http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=47688#.U2E2xGVqr4s
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