This extension of the peacekeeping mission in South Sudan is not as long as usual.
The last mission had a year-long mandate, but this time, the United Nations Security Council chose to extend the mandate by just three months.
That is not however an indication that the Security Council’s focus is moving away from the troubled country. Rather it’s to give investigators time to complete a strategic review and make suggestions.
Those suggestions will inform the Security Council – and they’ll take them into consideration when the mission is up for renewal again.
As part of that review, the UN’s team is looking at the security and humanitarian situation in South Sudan, and traveling to remote parts of the country to get a wide range of opinions.
Last week, during a Security Council meeting on South Sudan, top UN officials warned the human cost of the conflict in the country was now “catastrophic.”
The UN Under-Secretary for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, Mark Lowcock, warned parts of the country were once again one step away from famine, with twice the number of people now at risk compared to this time last year.
Lowcock said both sides in the conflict are still hampering relief efforts, and he warned that until that improved and the fighting ends, the humanitarian situation will “remain dire.”
Meanwhile, this week, the United Nations and the South Sudan humanitarian community launched a new appeal for the country. It says it needs more than $1.7 billion dollars to help six million people who have been affected by conflict, displacement and hunger.
