News (Consolidated) - UNSOM

[NEAR VERBATIM] Excellencies, Thank you, once again, for this opportunity to brief the African Union Peace and Security Council as part of a Trilateral format. I want to associate myself with the remarks delivered by Ambassador Biswaro on our collective behalf. I want to make a few points to…

[ Delivered at the AU PSC meeting ] Excellencies, On behalf of my colleagues on the Trilateral Taskforce on Permanent Constitution-Making and Electoral Processes Support to South Sudan (which comprises the AU, IGAD, and UN, with the Reconstituted Joint Monitoring and Evaluation Commission [RJMEC])…

EASTERN EQUATORIA - In Amadi, a village located a few kilometers from South Sudan’s capital, Juba, local communities used to live in fear. Unexploded ordnance—a reminder of past civil wars—littered their ancestral lands making farming impossible and posing risks to women, children, and men as they…

JONGLEI/PIBOR- In the ethnically complex Greater Jonglei/Pibor area, cattle raids, revenge killings, child abductions and other forms of intercommunal violence have been going on for longer than anyone wants to remember. Repeated attempts to break this persistent cycle of mutual hostilities have…

The United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) condemns the killing today of a South Sudanese staff member in Abiemnhom in the Ruweng Administrative Area, close to the border with Warrap State and Abyei. Charles Kiir Gone, a heavy vehicle operator, was serving with the peacekeeping mission in…

JUBA - Although life so far has not turned out the way she had hoped for, 60-year-old Fatima Ibrahim Ori doesn’t let that stop her from living it to the fullest. That spirit of hers means that we cannot think of anyone more suitable to highlight as this year’s International Women’s Day approaches…

UNITY STATE – The landing of a helicopter at a remote peacekeeping base in Koch, South Sudan, signified a pivotal moment for the local community. It meant that a judge would soon set foot in the area for what may be the first time, introducing residents to the promise of formal justice. In Unity…

LAKES - It takes a strong woman, determined to make a difference, to leave two children and family behind to become a peacekeeper serving with the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS). Fortunately for everyone involved, Ayat Harb from Jordan is exactly that. “It is clear to me that women…

NORTHERN BAHR EL GHAZAL – “In South Sudan, empowering women remains a necessity. Providing them with education and equal opportunities will allow them to be more involved in decision-making processes. That will especially true when the 35 per cent female political representation stipulated in the…

UPPER NILE – She may be only 27, but Mary Nyaluong Dhieu Kiir has already tasted professional success by becoming a Director at her state’s Ministry of Gender and Social Welfare. Doubling as Secretary-General for Upper Nile’s Women’s Union, she is still aiming higher. “Friends have always encouraged…

“I used to be a kindergarten teacher and loved it, but then I felt I was ready to play with older children,” says Colonel Maysaros Chea from Cambodia, cheeky smile on her face. She would have barely left kindergarten herself, as a little girl, when a UN peacekeeping operation on her home soil…

UNITY STATE – In South Sudan, livestock such as cows, sheep, and goats are symbols of wealth, status, and cultural identity. They play a pivotal role in social practices, including marriage negotiations, and are a primary source of livelihood and nutrition for many. If they are healthy, that is…