Riek Machar Teny-Dhurgon speaks to the media following a United Nations Security Council meeting at the U.N. headquarters in New York
The announcement that South Sudan’s President Salva Kiir is reinstating Riek Machar back to his former position as the country’s Vice President seems like a major step towards peace.
That re-appointment was expected to follow the peace plan the two men signed last August.
However, continued fighting since then has left the agreement, and Machar’s re-appointment in doubt.Now, Riek Machar is refusing to take up the position. He’s living in Ethiopia and says he’ll only return if Kiir removes his troops from the South Sudan capital Juba. He also wants Kiir to reverse his decision to create more states in the south of the country.
The United Nations has been pushing for a peaceful resolution in South Sudan since fighting broke out in December 2013.
UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said the UN is now urging Machar to return to Juba. Returning, he said, is the only way “for the transitional government to be established as quickly as possible.”
If Machar does return, Dujarric said it would be “an important step” in the implementation of the peace agreement. In the meantime, fighting has continued. And last month a U.N. report showed both sides were trying to source new weapons, and atrocities were continuing against civilians.
With so much uncertainty, the threat of more UN sanctions on the county is likely to remain.Realistically, it’s the best tool the UN has to force Kiir and Machar to find a peaceful solution for the country.