EP wants EU to help Sudan's state-building process

Two years after South Sudan's independence, the European Parliament Tuesday called on the EU and the international partners to maintain their commitment to development and state-building and to human security for all South-Sudanese people. In a resolution adopted today, the EP calls also on the South Sudanese authorities to continue the efforts towards full establishment of the constitutional order and the rule of law. Sudan and South Sudan should "make best use of the wealth and potential" of the oil resources in the region, says the resolution. "The harassment of human rights activists and journalists and the unlawful detention and censorship of journalists" should end, it says. It also welcomed the EU's development aid of 285 million euro (USD 391 mn) committed to South Sudan since its independence and support the focus of this aid on agriculture, democratic governance and the rule of law, education and health.