HIGHLIGHTS
Back from her first visit to South Sudan, the United Nations Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict, Mrs. Zainab Hawa Bangura warned that sexual violence is a consistent characteristic of the conflict, and is being perpetrated by all the parties. “What I witnessed in Bentiu is the worst I have seen in my almost 30 years in dealing with this issue. This is because of the combination of chronic insecurity, unimaginable living conditions, acute day-to-day protection concerns and rampant sexual violence,” said Mrs. Bangura.
The UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Mr. António Guterres, and UN Secretary-General’s Humanitarian Envoy, Dr. Abdullah al Matouq, visited Sudan on 21 and 22 October, with a particular focus on the South Sudanese situation. The mission visited Joda border crossing and Al Alagaya site in White Nile State. Dr. al Matouq and Mr. Guterres met with H.E. the President of the Republic, Field Marshall Omar Al Bashir, and Government Ministers to discuss ways in which the international humanitarian community can strengthen its partnerships with the Government to improve cooperation and enhance the provision of assistance to those who need it. The High Commissioner expressed UNHCR’s gratitude for Sudan’s hospitality towards South Sudanese refugees, while calling for much-needed further financial support from the donor community.
The South Sudan Humanitarian Country Team (HCT) was of the unanimous view that the L3 for South Sudan should be extended. While noting that the humanitarian response had achieved a lot in 2014, the HCT highlighted that there are still 700,000 people who humanitarian partners have not been able to reach. The HCT also noted that more must be done to ramp-up the humanitarian response in the dry season.