Ban urges additional 5500 troops for UNMISS, vote set for late Tuesday

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon late Monday recommended to the Security Council to send urgently and on temporary basis 5, 500 troops and 423 police personnel from existing UN Missions in the region to strengthen the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) protective capabilities, at a time the Council has scheduled a vote on a US-drafted resolution in this regard later Tuesday. "I am deeply concerned about the growing violence in many parts of South Sudan, human rights abuses, and killings fuelled by ethnic tensions. The displacement of civilians is growing and spreading. Efforts to facilitate a political solution to the crisis are ongoing but have yet to gain traction," Ban wrote in a letter to the Security Council. He said in light of the "urgent priority requirements" of UNMISS for the protection of civilians, UN personnel and assets, he decided the transfer to UNMISS of troops and police personnel from other Missions in the continent. These include United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO,) African Union - United Nations Hybrid Operation in Darfur (UNAMID), United Nations Interim Security Force for Abyei (UNISFA), United Nations Operation in Cote d'Ivoire (ONUCI), and the UN Mission in Liberia (UNMIL). He noted that the Secretariat is in the process of obtaining the consent of the troop and police contributing countries concerned and is coordinating closely with the peacekeeping operations concerned to ensure that the timing and duration of this proposed temporary re-deployment does not prejudice the implementation of their respective mandates. He also said UNMISS needs three attack helicopters, three utility helicopters, and one C130 military transport aircraft. The human rights investigation capacity of UNMISS, he added, is being urgently strengthened with the support of the Geneva-based Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. He said he would be "grateful" if the Council would approve his recommendations on "an urgent basis," given the extraordinary time constraints, and urged those capable members to help with the air and other transportation of troops and equipment to ensure their timely deployment. As to the funding of the transfer, he said the Secretariat will need to request additional funding through the established channels. In the meantime, Council President Gerard Araud of France convened an urgent meeting of the Council late Monday to hear a briefing by Assistant Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations Edmond Mulet on the "deteriorating" situation in South Sudan, and to discuss the US-drafted resolution which will be under Chapter VII of the UN Charter. Mulet told the Council that the fighting has expanded to many parts of the country and that violence continues to follow ethnic lines, resulting in 100, 000 internally displaced persons (IDPs), including 45,000 who sought refuge in and around UNMISS bases. According to the US draft resolution that will be voted on later today Tuesday, the Council would endorse Ban's recommendation to urgently and temporarily increase the overall force levels of UNMISS to consist of a military component of up to 12,500 troops of all ranks, compared to some 7,000 currently deployed, and of a police component of up to 1,323, compared to some 700 currently deployed. The additional forces will be withdrawn from other Missions, as suggested in Ban's letter. The Council would request the Secretary-General to keep the new levels of troops and police in UNMISS under "continuous review," and report to the Council at least every 90 days. The Council would express "grave alarm and concern" regarding the rapidly deteriorating security and humanitarian crisis in South Sudan resulting from the crisis caused by the country's political leaders, and condemn the fighting and targeted violence against civilians and specific ethnic communities across the country. It would call on the parties to reject violence in all forms, resolve disagreements peacefully through dialogue, and demonstrate leadership in bringing a swift and peaceful resolution to the political crisis. The crisis erupted a week ago when government soldiers loyal to President Salva Kiir, who belongs to the Dinka tribe, clashed with those loyal to former Vice-President Riek Machar who belongs to the rival tribe Nuer and who was dismissed last July. The Council would stress that undermining UNMISS' efforts "will not be tolerated," and those who violate international humanitarian law and international human rights law "must be held accountable." US Ambassador Samantha Power also told reporters that the US Special Envoy for South Sudan Don Booth was in Juba Monday to help with mediation efforts, and he is succeeding. "The future of South Sudan is in jeopardy. The leaders of South Sudan face a stark choice: they can return to the political dialogue and spirit of cooperation that helped establish South Sudan, or they can destroy those hard-fought gains and tear apart their newborn nation," she warned.