The Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Head of the United Nations Mission in South Sudan has commended parties to the 2018 Revitalized Peace Agreement and holdout groups that did not sign the deal for resuming talks in Nairobi, Kenya, under the Tumaini Initiative.
“This has given the South Sudanese people hope that their leaders are working in their best interests, and I urge everybody in Nairobi to seize this opportunity to transcend their differences and work towards the greatest good for their people,” said Nicholas Haysom.
Speaking at a press conference in Juba, Mr Haysom also urged the country’s leaders to make the political decisions needed to ensure that legal, financial and technical requirements are met in time for its first democratic elections to be held in December 2026.
He commended the National Elections Commission for committing to developing a clear electoral operations timeline and reiterated their call for immediate preparations for voter registration.
“From our perspective, comprehensive voter registration creates the space for all citizens and all the diverse ethnic and other groups to come together in the shared enterprise of building a better future,” he said. “It’s the springboard upon which the South Sudanese can launch a nation building movement in the course of its first elections.”
Mr Haysom stressed the importance of a strong legal framework because it promotes equity and confidence and is directly linked to elections that can be considered legitimate, free and fair by the people of South Sudan.
“I want to underscore that elections that don’t have the confidence of the population could be catastrophic for the country, even possibly sending it into a relapse back into conflict. It’s the outcome we must collectively strive to avoid at all costs because neither South Sudanese nor the broader region can afford it.”
He highlighted the United Nations’ support for election preparations, including technical assistance, capacity building, a plan to construct offices for electoral bodies in all 10 states, and creating opportunities for people to freely participate in democratic processes.
“An election cannot be conducted in an environment where people do not have the freedom to have these conversations, where a plurality of views and opinions aren’t encouraged. Expanding civic and political space, therefore, isn’t an empty slogan. It is the foundation for an electoral process that is free, fair, and credible.”
Mr Haysom acknowledged the profound challenges confronting the country, including an economic crisis, intercommunal conflict, a spillover from the Sudan conflict, climate shocks and a rising cholera outbreak.
“These challenges are real but so is the tremendous opportunity to choose hope over fear, unity of purpose over conflict and discord,” he said. “I, therefore, call on South Sudan’s leaders to carry forward this hope by making every effort to recapture the optimism and good intentions that independence had brought to their people.”
He said the only way they can do this is by fully implementing the peace deal they themselves wrote into existence.
“There are no shortcuts in the journey from war to peace. But I remain convinced that with decisive actions, a unified approach and moral courage, peace is not only possible, it’s inevitable.”
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS).
