Under-Secretary-General Warns Security Council of Growing Instability in South Sudan, Urges Government Recommit to Peace Agreement
Meetings Coverage
Security Council
10038th Meeting (AM)
SC/16217
11 November 2025
With developments in South Sudan moving "in a negative and possibly dangerous direction", briefers urged the transitional Government to recommit to the Revitalized Peace Agreement before the situation descends into violence threatening political stability and the UN Mission in the country.
Jean-Pierre Lacroix, United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Peace Operations, warned that increasing ceasefire violations include widespread aerial bombardments and clashes between signatories of the Revitalized Peace Agreement. Recalling that First Vice-President Reik Machar and allied opposition leaders remain detained and on trial, he stressed that adherence to due process is crucial "if public confidence is to be maintained and the trial does not serve as a trigger for violence". With the "trust deficit" between key players widening, the Peace Agreement "remains the only viable framework for long term peace and stability", he affirmed.
He said that despite shrinking resources and ambitious mandates, the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) remains vital to preserving peace and stability through the transition. The Mission's contingency plan includes closing some field offices, repatriating personnel and reducing staff. Although UNMISS reaffirmed its full commitment to its mandate, and President Salva Kiir offered assurances, the Government has since issued a formal document imposing conditions that threaten both the plan's viability and the Mission's continued operation.
With transitional security arrangements stalled and minimal progress on the Constitution, he urged resuming the Government-led Joint Task Force with the UN, African Union, Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) and Troika. He warned of a catastrophic humanitarian situation, with 7.5 million people facing severe food insecurity, 28,000 at risk of famine and over 1.2 million returnees and refugees from Sudan entering a country "already struggling to feed its own".
With time running short, he emphasized the need to bring the peace process back on track, calling for a clear message from the Council. Developments in Sudan "serve as a reminder that peacekeeping is an investment in international peace and security as the region simply cannot afford another conflict causing more suffering to the people of South Sudan, who have suffered far too much and for far too long", he stated.
Women, Girls in South Sudan Suffer Most amid Rising Violence
For her part, Sima Sami Bahous, Executive Director of the UN Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN-Women) affirmed that "as always in crisis and conflict, women and girls are hit hardest" — facing relentless climate challenges, food insecurity, sexual violence, abductions and more.
South Sudan has one of the highest rates of gender-based violence in the region, with an estimated 2.7 million people at risk, she said. In 2024, UNMISS documented 260 cases of conflict-related sexual violence.
"The UN's work in South Sudan is more critical than ever," she stressed, rejecting attempts to backtrack. Sharing an example where 100 girls were trapped in a boarding school during a cattle raid, she noted UN peacekeepers intervened and de-escalated the situation. "Those 100 girls would find it incomprehensible that the mandates and resources behind those peacekeepers' might somehow be in question," she said.
Warning that South Sudan risks relapsing back into full-scale conflict, Solomon Ayele Dersso, Executive Director of the civil society group Amani Africa Media and Research Services, declared: the Council "must take decisive steps to prevent this".
Recent purges of senior Government officials recall the last period of major violence in 2016. Fighting between the South Sudan People's Defence Forces and armed groups linked to the Sudan People's Liberation Movement-in-Opposition continues to escalate, while — in addition to the 2 million people already internally displaced — nearly 500,000 people were newly displaced from January to September.
Making several urgent recommendations, he called on the Council "to exercise its enormous influence to nudge the parties" into ending unilateral actions and starting dialogue. The Council should also visit South Sudan and support deployment of a preventive diplomacy effort under auspices of the UN-African Union Joint Framework Partnership.
South Sudan's Leaders Have 'Prioritized Personal Enrichment'
As the floor opened for debate, Council members echoed briefers' concerns, with the delegate of the United States urging Juba to "immediately reverse course" and renounce violence. Recalling that the United States contributed over $9 billion in direct bilateral assistance, she said: "Unfortunately, the transitional Government has not done its part." South Sudan's leaders have "prioritized personal enrichment" over humanitarian needs despite $25 billion in oil revenue since independence. She added that some international organizations call for more donations without holding Juba accountable for its role in a largely human-made crisis.
Voicing concern over the country's deteriorating political situation, the United Kingdom's delegate cited violations of the peace agreement, exclusionary reshuffles of Government and the systematic sidelining of opposition voices. The ongoing detention and trial of the First Vice-President represents a serious risk, she warned. Against that backdrop, representatives of the Republic of Korea, Greece and France reaffirmed support for the Revitalized Peace Agreement, with the latter calling it the "only political framework offering a prospect of peaceful development for the country".
Noting that South Sudan's peace was hard-won, China's delegate said it "should be cherished", with the international community helping "this young country move forward towards stability and development". Urging the parties to resolve their differences peacefully, he warned: "Any governance model imposed will not take root in local soil". Spotlighting the critical role played by Chinese peacekeepers, he said the role of UNMISS should be strengthened, rather than weakened.
Concerns over Worsening Humanitarian Crisis
Several delegates, including those from Panama and Pakistan, warned of South Sudan's worsening humanitarian crisis, driven by conflict, severe flooding, a cholera outbreak and spillover from Sudan's war. Pakistan's delegate urged donors to fund the Humanitarian Response Plan, now only 30 per cent financed, and called for protection of aid workers and respect for humanitarian law. The delegate of Denmark voiced alarm over rising conflict-related sexual violence and urged unrestricted UN access. Slovenia delegate stressed that "the people of South Sudan deserve more than survival," warning against waiting for another famine as thousands face catastrophe.
In a different register, the representative of the Russian Federation highlighted the harmful effects of the arms embargo — echoed by representatives of the African continent - and citing it as the main obstacle to a unified national army, urging that it be eased or completely dismantled. South Sudan must be offered coherent solutions "adapted to the changed domestic political landscape", with the Government and opposition halting further escalation, and return to the logic of the Revitalized Peace Agreement. The timeframe "should be left to Juba's discretion" rather than demanding immediate progress in establishing democratic institutions "based on Western models", she stated.
The representative of Sierra Leone, Council President for November, spoke in his national capacity and on behalf of Algeria, Guyana and Somalia, stressing that UNMISS efforts "remain crucial", while warning: "Scaling down the operational presence of [the Mission] will put the prospect of durable peace" in jeopardy. Citing the difficult financial situation facing UNMISS, he called for the urgent convening of a South Sudan pledging conference.
Voicing regret that a planned visit to South Sudan by the Sanctions Committee was blocked by one permanent member over the question of costs — "which we consider to be very minimal" — he said timely funding for the humanitarian response is also critical. "Despite some generous contributions, the overall donor response to the humanitarian crisis has been far less than required," he said.
South Sudan Reaffirms Commitment to Peace Agreement
For her part, the representative of South Sudan reaffirmed her Government's "unwavering commitment to the full implementation of the Revitalized Peace Agreement" as "the only way out of the transition and the only way into stability in South Sudan". She called upon signatories to the peace agreement to exercise restraint, "refrain from inflammatory actions" and re-engage constructively. Individuals who have been charged or in the process of the courts "should not detract" from continuation of the Peace Agreement.
Recognizing "the magnitude of the humanitarian challenges facing our nation", she noted that, with limited resources, "we've welcomed everybody from Sudan and have opened our borders and have remained very neutral" in that crisis. While the 35 per cent representation of women in Government has not been yet fully achieved, she recalled "we have two Vice-Presidents that are females". Any adjustment to UNMISS' structure or presence should be carried out in close consultation with the Government. Further, the Government's suggestion of 17 points for UNMISS presence in the three capitals "was meant in good faith" and for stability, and "was not in any way a condition for UNMISS to continue its work". She stressed that the country is "determined not to return to conflict" — calling on regional and international partners to continue their support.
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