The UN will reduce its presence and activities in South Sudan due to the financial crisis

The United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) announced this Thursday plans to reduce its presence and activities by 15% in the African country due to its “difficult financial situation” caused by delays and deficiencies in the financial contributions of member states, the mission reported.

The announcement was made during a joint press conference held this Thursday in the South Sudanese capital, Juba, by the UN Under-Secretary-General for Peace Operations, Jean-Pierre Lacroix, and the South Sudanese Minister of Government Affairs, Martin Elia Lomuro, after a meeting to analyze the financial challenges and their possible impact on the work of UNMISS.

Lacroix, who is traveling in South Sudan, stated from Juba that “the difficult financial situation is forcing UNMISS to cut expenses, which will affect its presence on the ground in some areas.”

In response to the fiscal crisis, UNMISS “must reduce its spending by 15%, which implies reducing its presence and activities throughout the country,” the mission said in a statement.

However, the UN is aware of the serious situation in the African country, and Lacroix assured that South Sudan is “fragile” and “severely affected by the conflict in neighboring Sudan, climate change, and the drastic decrease in humanitarian assistance.”

Therefore, he stressed that a “strong international and political cooperation is necessary to convince member states that continued support benefits the people of South Sudan, the region and global security.”

He also clarified that despite the challenges, the UN “is committed” to remaining and providing assistance to the people of South Sudan.

For his part, Minister Lomuro stated that the Government “deeply values the important role played by UNMISS since the General Peace Agreement in supporting state institutions, including the security and justice sectors”, and added that Juba “will work closely with the mission to ensure that the reduction process is implemented smoothly and without negative consequences”.

UNMISS currently has around 17,000 peacekeeping personnel, along with more than 2,000 police and civilian staff, deployed in several states, including Jonglei, Unity, Upper Nile, and Central Equatoria.