UNSC endorses Ban's recommendation to reinforce UNMISS

Acting upon UN Chief Ban Ki-moon's recommendation, the Security Council on Tuesday agreed to transfer "urgently and temporarily" additional 5,500 troops, 423 police personnel and a number of attack and other helicopters from existing UN missions in east Africa to strengthen the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) protective capabilities. The Council voted unanimously on a resolution under Chapter VII of the UN Charter, allowing UN troops to fire back if attacked by rebels. The Council thus authorized the increase of 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 UN will borrow the forces and assets from the 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 C`te d'Ivoire (ONUCI) and the UN Mission in Liberia (UNMIL). Ban welcomed the adoption of the resolution and urged the political parties to hear the Council's message "loud and clear" and to implement it without delay. The Council requested Ban to keep the new levels of troops and police in UNMISS under "continuous review," and report to the Council at least every 90 days. It expressed "grave alarm and concern" regarding the rapidly deteriorating security and humanitarian crisis in South Sudan resulting from the rivalry between the country's political leaders, and condemned the fighting and targeted violence against civilians and specific ethnic communities across the country. It called 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 Council stressed that undermining UNMISS' efforts "will not be tolerated," and those who violate international humanitarian law and international human rights law "must be held accountable." According to the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), hundreds of people have been killed, some targeted on the basis of ethnicity, and some 81,000 people have been internally displaced by the crisis, "but the real number is likely to be higher." The crisis erupted on December 15 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.  Addressing the Council following the vote, Ban welcomed the "urgency and collective resolve of the Security Council today." The resolution called for an immediate cessation of hostilities and opening of dialogue, demanded that all parties cooperate fully with UNMISS, and authorised the temporary strengthening of protection capacities with additional troops, police and logistical assets from other UN missions. Ban thanked the Council for its action and engagement to address the mounting crisis in South Sudan, reiterating his determination to ensure that UNMISS has the means to carry out its central task of protecting civilians. "I trust that the Council and other Member States will continue to do their part to provide the personnel, equipment and the logistical support required to ensure a timely deployment of these additional troops and enablers," he said. Without such support, he argued, "the UN will not be able to deploy quickly the additional capacity required, even with ongoing support, the strengthening of UNMISS' protection capabilities will not happen overnight, even with additional capabilities, we will not be able to protect every civilian in need in South Sudan. The parties are responsible to end the conflict. Political dialogue, in the end, is the only solution." Whatever the political leaders' differences, he said "nothing can justify the violence that has engulfed their young nation. They must do everything in their power to immediately ensure that their followers hear the message loud and clear: Continued violence, ethnic and otherwise, is completely unacceptable." Ban also thanked the troop- and police-contributing countries that have agreed to the temporary relocation of their personnel and assets to South Sudan. "We are coordinating closely with the other UN Missions to ensure re-deployments do not affect the implementation of their respective mandates," he cautioned. He said attacks on civilians and the UN peacekeepers "must cease immediately," vowing that the UN will investigate reports of these incidents and of grave human rights violations and crimes against humanity. "Those responsible will be held personally accountable. They should know the world is watching," he warned. South Sudanese Ambassador Francis Mading Deng told the Council following adoption of resolution 2132 "we assure you of the full support and cooperation of our delegation and Government," and expressed appreciation for the "high attention" that Ban and the International Community at large, have given to the crisis. South Sudan has been "consistently grateful" for the support the UN has extended to "our nascent country before and after our independence, he said, adding that "this is particularly needed now, as we are experiencing a period of complex internal conflict which is threatening large sections of the population." "South Sudanese do not want to fall back into the abyss of war from which they have suffered for over half a century," he stressed. His Government is doing "as much as it can, under very difficult circumstances, to restore calm and stability to the affected areas in the country," he insisted. "We hope that, through our solidarity with the international community, we can overcome the crisis the country is going through, and reinvigorate the process of unity, nation-building and urgently needed socio-economic development," he said. He seized the opportunity to assure Ban and the Council of "our determination to reestablish our sense of national unity and purpose and reaffirm our deep-rooted commitment to the objectives of international peace and security and respect for fundamental human rights and humanitarian principles."