Press Statement on VP James Wani Igga’s Visit to the UN–Part 2
September 28, 2015 (SSB) — H.E. Vice President James Wani Igga and his high level delegation have had another busy day (September 27) at the UN. The VP delivered two statements at two different summits of heads of state and government.
The first statement was at the Summit for the Adoption of the Post 2015 Development Agenda, which is a UN sponsored global development agenda to follow the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) which have just ended after 15 years. Both agendas set developmental and human rights targets that all nation-states are expected to reach within specific time frames. These include poverty reduction, access to primary education, better healthcare provision, etc.
The VP explained that being a new country, South Sudan could not be realistically expected to meet those targets, they have nevertheless “have become benchmarks which shall guide our planning for decades to come.” The emphasis of the new agenda, however, is on sustainable development – i.e. development without destruction of the environment.
Having received the text of the post-2015 agenda before we departed for the U.S., the content included many positive elements for a developing country like South Sudan (though stagnant at the moment). These include funding for developing green energy that will be undertaken by financial institutions established under the agenda itself.
Considering that, because of the extra cost required, it is more expensive to develop in a sustainable manner than in a non-sustainable way. Hence, the path to sustainable development for a country like South Sudan would be so hard to follow as the trade-off required for the country to make would be unrealistic without assistance from the developed world.
The VP gave an example of the Sudd region, which is one of the five largest wetlands in the world and a world resource. Considering that it contains one of the richest ecosystems on the planet, losing that rich region to oil exploration would not be a loss to South Sudan alone but to the world at large.
VP’s second statement was to a summit on gender equality and women’s empowerment. As South Sudan was required to make a statement of commitment to empowering its females, VP explained to the world leaders in attendance that the country has all the legal frameworks in place for women’s empowerment and it is committed to empowering and protecting the girl child up until she reaches her full potential.
The VP also had a fruitful meeting with Ambassador Thomas A. Shannon, Counsellor of the Department of State and Amb. Donald Booth, US Special Envoy to Sudan and South Sudan. The meeting discussed funding for the implementation phase of the recently signed agreement. As the ambassadors expressed absolute U.S. commitment to standing with the people of South Sudan, they accepted the arguments of the VP, Ministers Deng Athorbei and Awan Gol that funding for the implementation could not be handled by South Sudan alone and that certain areas require prior funding and preparation before they commenced on the ground.
The two ambassadors called the current compromise made by the government to be for the sake of “a second birth” of the state, after the first birth four years ago. That the U.S. remains a true friend to the people of South Sudan and it will never abandon the country at any time, not least at a time when it most needs its friends. They also explained that the U.S. has
All in all, any neutral and less bitter citizen of South Sudan must see that the country stands to benefit from implementing the current “unsatisfactory” agreement. The world is talking about development goals and has set aside huge funds for assisting countries like South Sudan to achieve them.
Old friends are making unequivocal statements of commitment to helping South Sudan go through the deep mistrust of the coming days and rebuild a strong foundation for sustainable peace and development. The choice is now for South Sudanese to either engage in a war of attrition where there will be no victor even in a hundred years as the country stands at the brink, or swallow their misplaced pride, bitterness and hatred, if only for the sake of posterity.
David Mayen Ayarbior, Press Secretary of the VP, H.E. James Wani Igga. New York. Mayen.ayarbior@gmail.com
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