Elizabeth-Campbell-Photo-scaled – |United States Department of State|.
United States Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration Elizabeth Campbell expressed deep disappointment over the lack of progress toward creating the conditions necessary for genuine and peaceful elections in South Sudan.
Campbell expressed disappointment after meeting South Sudan’s President, Salva Kiir Mayardit, other senior transitional government officials, civil society representatives, United Nations and diplomatic community partners, and humanitarian aid organizations between July 16 and 19, 2024 in Juba, South Sudan’s capital city.
Campbell was accompanied by National Security Council Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Multilateral Affairs Josh Black on a four-day visit to South Sudan to assess the progress of the peace implementation.
They also visited the Gorom Refugee Settlement, where they spoke with refugees and those providing them with assistance.
“The United States is deeply disappointed by the transitional government’s lack of progress toward creating the conditions necessary for genuine and peaceful elections. We call upon all parties to engage in dialogue, both among leaders in Juba and at the Tumaini Initiative talks in Kenya,” Campbell said in a statement extended to Golden Times.
She advised that willingness to engage in dialogue was a key indicator of political will to take the steps needed to establish a better future for the South Sudanese people.
She warned that the current version of the National Security Service Act including a warrant-free arrest provision, would be a significant and troubling step toward further closing of political and civic space.
The U.S. official disclosed that the total U.S. humanitarian assistance to South Sudan since independence exceeds $7.3 billion.
“We outlined the magnitude of U.S. humanitarian assistance in South Sudan. Our July 5 announcement of over $57 million to address the urgent needs of crisis-affected people, plus the July 18 impressive commitment from U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield, brings the total amount of U.S. Government humanitarian assistance in South Sudan to nearly $399 million to date in Fiscal Year 2024.”
“We emphasized the transitional government’s responsibility to use public revenue to assist the approximately 75 percent of its own population in need of humanitarian aid, as well as the more than 740,000 people, mostly South Sudanese, who have fled from Sudan since April 2023. We called for the establishment of a system for full and consistent implementation of exemptions from taxes, duties, and fees for the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS), UN agencies, humanitarian organizations, and diplomatic missions,” the statement read.
The U.S. relationship with South Sudan began decades ago and is based on values, including belief in peace, human rights, democracy, and the duty of a government to be responsive to its people’s needs.
The U.S. officials said they look to South Sudan’s leaders to demonstrate alignment with these values.
