South Sudan, 2012

Allow

me, at the outset, to join fellow Member States in

congratulating the President of the General Assembly

on his election to preside over the Assembly at its sixtyseventh

session and to commend his predecessor for his

successful stewardship of the most recent session.

I would like to seize this momentous occasion to

express our deepest gratitude and appreciation to the

Secretary-General for the passion and compassion

he has shown in responding to the various global

challenges facing the Organization and, most important,

his unwavering personal support for our referendum on

self-determination, our independence and the speedy

admission of the Republic of South Sudan into the

United Nations.

Furthermore, we are also deeply grateful to the

Assembly for the warmth, generosity and hospitality accorded to our President when he addressed the

Assembly last year. He made that address at the time

when the international community was concerned

about the viability of our new nation. In the light of

the progress we have made and despite recent events,

I am pleased to address the Assembly this year under

the theme of the sixty-seventh session “Bringing about

adjustment or settlement of international disputes or

situations by peaceful means”.

The Republic of South Sudan achieved its

independence peacefully, through the exercise of the

right of self-determination by the people of South

Sudan in an internationally supervised referendum,

as stipulated in the Comprehensive Peace Agreement

(CPA). The international community played an

important role in this, our independence process. We

are therefore very thankful to all those who helped us

achieve independence, not least the United Nations.

Our declaration of independence on 9 July 2011 did

not resolve all the issues between us and the predecessor

State, the Republic of the Sudan. These unresolved,

post-independence issues include border demarcation,

oil infrastructure, security and the final status of the

Abyei Area. The bilateral engagement between the two

countries failed to achieve an agreement. As a result,

the African Union intervened by mandating the African

Union High-level Implementation Panel, under former

President Thabo Mbeki, to facilitate negotiations

between the two parties.

As the situation continued to deteriorate, the

Security Council intervened and adopted resolution

2046 (2012). That resolution sets out a clear road map

for resolving all the remaining differences between the

Sudan and South Sudan, including Abyei, and addresses

the conflicts in Southern Kordofan and Blue Nile.

Before I discuss the developments in the talks in

Addis Ababa, allow me to also brief the Assembly on

other issues of importance such as State-building, food

security, public service reform, access to education,

security and accountability in my country.

We have embarked upon laying a secure foundation

for a prosperous, democratic and stable nation by

establishing institutions at the national, state and local

Government levels for governance and the delivery of

services to the people. We believe that food security

is not a privilege but a basic right of each and every

citizen in South Sudan. No citizen should go hungry.

As the saying goes, a hungry man is an angry man. It will not be good for the stability of the country if we

have many hungry and angry men. In our endeavour to

achieve food security, we are diversifying the economy

by utilizing oil revenues to fuel agriculture and build

the necessary basic infrastructure. This is the only way

we can benefit from the vast fertile agricultural lands

that our country is generously endowed with.

Our public service is functioning satisfactorily,

especially after the introduction of far-reaching public

service reforms. That has brought about efficiency and

transparency in service delivery. We have introduced

constructive and effective reforms in our public

financial management and have strengthened measures

to improve transparency and accountability.

As for education, we have increased access to

education for all children in South Sudan. Since the

signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement, in

2005, enrolment in our primary schools has more than

doubled. In the past year, we continued to strengthen

and expand the education sector by further introducing

alternative education. This innovative notion of an

alternative education system is currently offering

accelerated learning programmes to more than 200,000

youth and adults. Favourable conditions and terms of

service for teachers have been introduced throughout

the country, and the Government is working tirelessly

to meet the rapidly increasing demand for secondary

education caused by the increase in primary school

enrolment.

However, the Government still has a long way to go

in providing educational opportunities for our children

and youth that prepare them for the future and meet their

expectations and aspirations. At this juncture, allow

me to commend the launch by the Secretary-General

of the Global Initiative on Education, which we hope

will open up avenues of collaboration between South

Sudan and the international community on improving

education access for our children.

Our nascent nation has been tested enormously in

its first year of independence. We have been tested by

conflicts within and beyond our borders; we have been

tested by severe economic hardship; and we have been

tested by the revelation of severe abuse of the public

trust and funds resulting partly from malpractice

and lack of capacity. The Government is undertaking

serious corrective measures and institutional capacitybuilding

to address that issue in order to restore public

confidence.

My Government is striving harder than ever to

combat corruption in our public service. Along with

reformed systems for management of public funds and

tighter controls, we are combating corruption through

the rule of law and through greater transparency and

accountability. The Government has enacted legislation

that holds public officials accountable and brings the

management of our resources closer to international

standards.

The Government has published the entire annual

budget and opened our books to public scrutiny. By

the end of the year, we aim to be up to date on all of

the audits of our national accounts since the signing

of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement, in 2005. As

an accountable Government before our people, we

still believe that there is a long way ahead to achieve

the efficiency, transparency and accountability in our

public service and financial management. Despite the

economic peril since the shut-down of oil production,

we are, nevertheless, encouraged that the current

period of austerity has strengthened our resolve to press

ahead in our reform agenda and has allowed us to lay

a strong foundation for more efficient and accountable

governance beyond the austerity period — tough times

never last, but tough people do.

With regard to security, the Republic of South

Sudan is currently facing security threats in the form

of armed militia groups that are creating insecurity and

undermining our young democracy. The Government

has accorded the highest priority to reaching a peaceful

resolution to these internal conflicts. Four of the armed

militia groups have laid down their weapons and have

integrated voluntarily into our national army and

civilian life.

We believe that the internal and external security

of our nation is a prerequisite for having meaningful

economic development and social progress. While we are

working tirelessly towards achieving and maintaining

peace within our borders, critical unresolved issues

remain between South Sudan and the Sudan, including

border demarcation, citizenship rights, the status of

Abyei and oil-related issues. The lack of progress on

those post-independence issues has been posing a threat

to peace and stable relations between the two countries.

Our relations with the Sudan reached a critical

juncture last year, when Khartoum blocked tankers

loaded with our crude oil and prevented them from

departing from Port Sudan. In addition, Sudan seized and resold crude oil that we had sold to international

customers. By January, we had lost some $800 million

in revenues. At that point, my Government was left with

no choice but to shut down oil production. The decision

was publicly supported by the majority of our people.

In the context of relations of South Sudan and the

Sudan, it is incumbent upon my Government to shed

some light of what became known as the Heglig or

Panthou incident between us and the Republic of the

Sudan. That crisis was the result of increasing border

tensions and repeated bombings in the border areas of

my country by the Sudanese Armed Forces.

In April, our forces clashed with the Sudanese army

in an area inside South Sudan, several kilometers south

of Heglig. That resulted in our armed forces taking over

Heglig temporarily; we acted in self-defence to prevent

Heglig from being used as a launching pad for military

attacks by the Sudanese Armed Forces on our country.

In compliance with advice from the international

community, we withdraw our forces soon thereafter.

Although Heglig is historically part of South Sudan, it

was not our intention to take it by force. We believe that

we can settle the matter through peaceful negotiations.

Another area in which we believe we have not been

well understood by the international community is

our alleged support for the Sudan People’s Liberation

Movement – North (SPLM-North). What may not be

fully appreciated by outside observers is that those

forces were integral members of the SPLM. But

although they fought side by side with us, they were

not fighting for the independence of southern Sudan,

but for their own cause through alliance with us. Of

course, we shared a common vision of creating a new,

fundamentally restructured united Sudan of inclusivity,

equity and dignity for all, without discrimination on the

basis of race, ethnicity, religion or culture. But we also

had issues that were specific to our particular situation

and which, for us, eventually led to our independence.

It should be recalled that the CPA included a special

protocol on Southern Kordofan and Blue Nile states

that addressed their special grievances. That protocol

is yet to be credibly implemented. As the SPLM-North

were former allies who contributed significantly to our

success in achieving the objectives of our struggle, we

obviously have a moral and, indeed, political obligation

to assist them in addressing their legitimate grievances,

as stipulated and agreed in the CPA. In that connection, South Sudan is currently

carrying the burden of accommodating an increasing

number of refugees from the two areas. We therefore call

upon the international community to assist in meeting

the humanitarian needs of the refugees within South

Sudan, as well as throughout the Sudanese territory for

those internally displaced by the conflict.

Our President stated in his statement at our

independence celebration:

“We cannot abandon them, but would support their

cause peacefully through negotiated settlement

between them and the Government of the Sudan”.

South Sudan will use its good offices as a former

ally of the SPLM-North to assist the Sudan by acting

as an honest broker in mediating a peaceful, but just,

resolution of the conflict. We believe that our role as

honest brokers will in the long term assist our neighbour

to the north, the Government of the Sudan, to achieve

peace and stability. We are glad that the United Nations

recognizes that there can be no military solution to

the conflict and that a negotiated settlement is the way

forward.

I am pleased to inform the Assembly that, today,

President Salva Kiir Mayardit and President Omer

Hassan A. Al-Bashir signed an agreement that will allow

the two countries to pursue their national development

efforts under a secure and lasting peace. We are hopeful

that the new agreement with the Sudan will lead to the

resolution of our differences on security, borders and

the use of petroleum infrastructure.

It is envisaged that if each side upholds its part of

this agreement, the most significant causes of dispute

between our two countries will have been amicably

resolved. Diplomacy will have won, and reason will

have prevailed.

With the resolution of those key matters,

preparations to resume oil production in South Sudan

will now begin. The following agreements were signed

today between our two countries: first, the Agreement

Concerning Oil and Related Economic Matters;

second, the Framework Agreement on the Status of

Nationals of the Other State; third, the Agreement on

the Demarcation of the Boundary; fourth, an agreement

on border issues; fifth, the Agreement on a Framework

for Cooperation on Central Banking Issues; sixth, the

Agreement on Trade and Trade-related Issues; seventh,

the Agreement on Certain Economic Matters: Division

of Assets and Liabilities, Arrears and Claims and Joint Approach to the International Community; and, finally,

eighth, the Framework Agreement to Facilitate Payment

of Post-Service Benefits.

While we are happy with all that has been agreed

today by our two countries, I wish to inform the General

Assembly that we have failed to reach agreement on

Abyei. President Al-Bashir has rejected the proposal

of the African Union High-level Implementation

Panel, as stipulated under Security Council

resolution 2046 (2012). It is now incumbent upon the

African Union (AU) Peace and Security Council,

together with the United Nations Security Council, to

take the action necessary to move forward.

We are thankful to both the AU Peace and Security

Council and the United Nations Security Council

for their great efforts to bring about this agreement

between our two countries.

As our President stated in this forum one year

ago, “The ambition of the people of South Sudan is

to be able to transform their country into a regional

agro-industrial powerhouse” (see A/66/PV.19), with

reduced dependence on external assistance, and the

potential to feed the people of South Sudan and to be a

breadbasket for East Africa.

Our strategy is aimed at utilizing oil wealth as

a catalyst to stimulate our economic development

potential, with an emphasis on agriculture.

We are conscious of the fact that we cannot achieve

those goals alone. We need continued support from

friends, partners and the international community.

We are confident that together we shall overcome the

challenges ahead. I take this opportunity once more,

on behalf of the people and the Government of South

Sudan, to express our profound gratitude for the support

rendered to us by the United Nations, the AU, regional

organizations, friends and partners.

Finally, allow me to reiterate the resolve and the

commitment of the people and the Government of

the Republic of South Sudan to be a productive and

active member of this global family of nations, and to

make their contribution to promoting world peace and

prosperity for all humankind.