(NEW YORK) – The United States has expressed disappointment with South Sudan’s transitional government, saying it has failed to deliver the peace and stability that citizens of the young nation deserve.
Speaking at a United Nations Security Council briefing on South Sudan, Ambassador Dorothy Shea, the Acting U.S. Representative to the UN, said despite years of international support for post-conflict recovery, South Sudan’s leaders have not shown the political will to meet commitments under the 2018 peace agreement.
She pointed to failures in integrating armed forces, using public revenues transparently, creating civic space and ending the use of violence for political competition. According to her, responsibility for these failures is shared across all political parties in South Sudan.
Ambassador Shea said the actions of South Sudanese leaders now suggest an abandonment of the peace agreement, which remains the foundation of the transitional government. She noted that the continued house arrest of First Vice President Riek Machar, the detention of members of his party, and ongoing military strikes by the South Sudan People’s Defence Forces (SSPDF) against rival groups undermine the deal.
She added that ordinary South Sudanese cannot be expected to believe in the agreement while such violations continue.
The U.S. envoy warned that generations of citizens remain trapped in cycles of conflict, poverty, and political exclusion due to a lack of commitment to genuine reform. She said recent violence in Upper Nile State, Jonglei State, and other regions shows the heavy cost of these failures.
The UN Secretary-General’s latest report indicated that aerial bombardments and ground attacks between April and mid-July displaced around 300,000 people. The report also highlighted widespread civilian deaths, destruction of infrastructure, conflict-related sexual violence, and child recruitment into combat.
During the same period, about 132,000 South Sudanese fled into neighbouring countries, putting additional pressure on host nations already facing economic challenges.
Ambassador Shea said the worsening violence has intensified an already severe humanitarian crisis. She noted that more than 70 percent of South Sudan’s population now needs humanitarian assistance, yet aid efforts are constantly obstructed by conflict, corruption, and attacks on humanitarian workers.
She stressed that the unilateral actions of the transitional government clearly breach the 2018 peace deal and threaten to push the country back into full-scale civil war, depriving people of peace and prosperity.
The U.S. therefore called on all parties to cease hostilities, release political prisoners held without charge, and recommit to dialogue as a way of preventing further bloodshed.
Ambassador Shea also reiterated Washington’s call for the government in Juba to work in good faith with the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS), ensuring the peacekeeping mission can operate without hindrance in carrying out its mandate.