UNITED NATIONS, January 24 (Sputnik) – According to a statement released by the United Nations Friday, Ban Ki-moon “reminds the parties that time is running out. He urges them to use the opportunity of the forthcoming IGAD [Intergovernmental Authority on Development] Summit to reach a final agreement on the end to the conflict, including a power-sharing formula and measures to address its root causes and ensure accountability”.
The UN Secretary General also calls for the “immediate implementation” of the Agreement on the Reunification of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM) signed by the parties to the South Sudanese conflict, in Arusha, Tanzania, on 21 January 2015.
Ban Ki-moon urges President Salva Kiir and Riek Machar “to respect the cessation of hostilities agreement, and encourages the signatories to resolve the leadership issues of the SPLM”, UN’s Friday statement said.
In December, members of the UN Security Council adopted a Presidential Statement demanding a cessation of violence in South Sudan and threatening to impose sanctions if the crisis in the country is not resolved.
According to the UN Security Council, there have been serious human rights abuses in South Sudan and those responsible for violating international humanitarian law in the country should be held accountable.
Violence erupted in South Sudan in December, 2013, when president Salva Kiir accused Riek Machar of plotting a coup. Thousands of people have been killed in the ongoing civil war in the country.
