The United States has issued a strong warning to South Sudan’s transitional government over the obstruction of humanitarian assistance
He accused officials at national, state and local levels of increasing the costs and risks faced by organisations helping vulnerable South Sudanese.
US Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Frank Garcia said authorities had for too long obstructed humanitarian operations and treated assistance as a source of revenue instead of facilitating its delivery to people in need.
“For far too long, South Sudan’s transitional government has ignored its responsibility to reduce the costs and risks faced by those seeking to help South Sudanese people in need,” Garcia said.
He said the United States remains the largest provider of humanitarian assistance to the people of South Sudan, but accused the transitional government of taking advantage of the generosity of American taxpayers.
Garcia urged South Sudan’s leaders to address what he described as the man-made drivers of the humanitarian crisis affecting millions of people in the country.
These include political violence and the failure to use public revenue appropriately to provide basic services, respond to humanitarian needs and pay public-sector salaries.
The US official warned that South Sudan’s handling of humanitarian operations would increasingly influence Washington’s decisions on where to allocate its foreign assistance resources around the world.
“South Sudan’s transitional government’s unwillingness to act like a partner to those trying to help their people will continue to factor heavily into the United States’ decision making about where to devote valuable foreign assistance resources around the world,” Garcia said.
Washington also warned that it could deploy punitive measures against those responsible for obstructing humanitarian assistance.
Garcia said the United States would use all available tools, including sanctions and visa restrictions, in an effort to end what he described as impunity surrounding the obstruction of aid operations.
“We will use all the tools available to us, including sanctions and visa restrictions, to end the impunity that has contributed to making South Sudan one of the most dangerous places in the world to deliver humanitarian assistance,” he said.
The warning signals growing US concern over the operating environment facing humanitarian organisations in South Sudan and could have implications for Washington’s future engagement and allocation of humanitarian resources to the country.
South Sudan continues to face a severe humanitarian crisis driven by conflict, displacement, food insecurity and limited access to basic services, leaving millions of people dependent on humanitarian assistance.
