Chinese envoy highlights implementation of South Sudan peace agreement

A Chinese envoy to the United Nations on Friday highlighted the importance of the successful implementation of South Sudan peace agreement after the Security Council adopted a resolution.

"Parties to the conflict formally signed the 'Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in the Republic of South Sudan' and the peace process has entered a new stage. China welcomes this development," said Liu Jieyi, China's permanent representative to the UN, after the voting.

"China hopes that the resolution 2241 will play a vigorous and constructive role in the achievement of peace and stability in South Sudan as soon as possible," he said.

"The current imperative is to urge all South Sudanese parties to effectively honor their ceasefire agreement, comprehensively implement provisions of the agreement on schedule, firmly support the leading role of Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) and actively provide assistance to IGAD in monitoring and implementing the agreement," he said.

As for sanctions, "China has always maintained that the Security Council should exercise caution," he said.

"The council's actions on South Sudan should be conducive to the larger picture, the peace process in South Sudan, to the implementation of the agreement by all parties and to the prevention of confrontations and conflicts," he said.

Moreover, the envoy pointed out that "concerns of certain members of this council on the draft resolution have not been completely met. We believe the council should have spent more time on broad consultations so as to maximize efforts to seek consensus, maintain the unity of the council and ensure the successful implementation of the resolution."

The Security Council on Friday adopted a resolution to renew the mandate of the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) until Dec. 15 to support implementation of the agreement.

The UNMISS was established by the council on July 9, 2011, the day when South Sudan became an independent country after decades of civil war between the north and south of Sudan.

Source: XINHUA