U.S. Mission to the United Nations
Office of Press and Public Diplomacy
New York, New York
July 1, 2015
Statement by Ambassador Samantha Power, U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations, on the Security Council Sanctioning of Six South Sudanese Individuals, July 1, 2015
Today, the Security Council took strong action in support of a peaceful end to the conflict in South Sudan by sanctioning six South Sudanese individuals for fueling the ongoing conflict and contributing to the devastating humanitarian crisis in their country.
Major-General Marial Chanuong Yol Mangok; Lieutenant-General Gabriel Jok Riak; Major-General Santino Deng Wol; Major-General Simon Gatwech Dual; Major-General James Koang Chuol; and Major-General Peter Gadet will now be subject to a global travel ban and asset freeze for their contributions to a conflict that has left more than 6.5 million people in need of humanitarian assistance and forced more than 2 million from their homes.
As the members of the Security Council demonstrated today, those who commit atrocities and undermine peace will face consequences. The United States joins other members of the Security Council in demanding that both parties immediately cease offensive military action and commit themselves to the difficult but necessary task of negotiating a peace agreement. Today’s Council action also supports negotiation efforts by designating military leaders who all have committed abuses or violated the Cessations of Hostilities agreement. This step also responds directly to the May 22 and June 13 AU Peace and Security Council statements, which called on the Security Council to sanction those undermining the peace process.
The United States is appalled by recent reports of the targeting of women and girls for sexual abuse, including gang rape, and the burning alive of civilians in their homes, as detailed in UNMISS’s June 29 human rights report on the Upper Nile region. Such allegations must be fully investigated and perpetrators held accountable. In the meantime, the way to avoid further designations is to put an end to such violence against civilians, stop the fighting and come to a peace agreement.
Next week, South Sudan will celebrate four years as an independent state. In the intervening years, however, South Sudan’s political leadership has squandered the international goodwill that accompanied its independence and pursued political and economic self-interest that has produced only violence, displacement and suffering for the South Sudanese people. Political and military leaders on all sides of this conflict must put aside their self-serving ambitions, end the fighting, and engage in negotiations to establish a transitional government. The Security Council will continue to closely monitor the situation in South Sudan and stands ready to impose additional sanctions as may be warranted by the situation on the ground.
