UN officials on Tuesday told the Security Council that South Sudan’s delicate peace process has been thrown into a tailspin amid intensifying violence, a calamitous humanitarian crisis, and political paralysis.
Addressing the Council, Jean-Pierre Lacroix, UN under secretary-general for peace operations, said that in the last three months, events in South Sudan had “continued to move in a negative and possibly dangerous direction.”
“Ceasefire violations are on the increase, including widespread aerial bombardments and clashes between the signatories of the peace agreement,” he said. “With the unilateral removal of opposition appointees in the Transitional Government of National Unity in violation of the Peace Agreement, First Vice-President Machar and opposition leaders allied to him remain detained and on trial, and the effects of the conflict in Sudan continue to spill over the border, inflaming local tensions and placing strain on already scarce resources of the government and the international actors in the country.”
“As a result of all this, the trust deficit between key role players has widened as the peace process seems to be unraveling,” Lacroix added.
He said that despite these challenges and a breaking point becoming visible, the Revitalized Peace Agreement remains the only viable framework for long-term peace and stability in South Sudan.
He reminded the council members that the transitional period of the peace agreement is expected to conclude after the elections in December 2026. Still, he cautioned that “credible and peaceful elections within the timelines of the peace agreement appear increasingly improbable.”
He urged South Sudan’s political leaders to recommit to dialogue and consensus-building to prevent a total collapse of the peace process.
Lacroix described the humanitarian situation as “catastrophic,” with more than 7.5 million people facing acute food insecurity and 28,000 at risk of famine.
Severe flooding has displaced over a million, he said, adding that over 1.2 million returnees and refugees from Sudan have crossed into a country already struggling to feed its own.
“Human suffering during this volatile situation continues to mount. Conflict-related sexual violence, arbitrary detentions, and extrajudicial killings persist, with limited accountability,” Lacroix said, urging all parties to immediately cease hostilities.
He concluded his remarks with a plea for renewed regional and international engagement to keep South Sudan’s fragile peace process alive.
“Implementation of the Revitalized Agreement remains South Sudan’s only path to stability and lasting peace,” he said. “But time is running dangerously short, and there is an urgent need to bring the peace process back on track.”
Lacroix called on the parties to “take a citizen-centric approach, reinvigorate their commitment to political inclusion, and cease unilateral actions,” while urging the global community to remain united and engaged.
Meanwhile, Sima Sami Bahous, the UN Women executive director, said South Sudan’s path to peace and development is marred by political instability, humanitarian crises, and socioeconomic fragility.
“The country contends with weakened institutions and struggles with social cohesion, all as the ongoing war in neighboring Sudan further destabilizes its fragile transition,” Bahous told the council.
As always in crisis and conflict, she said women and girls are “hit hardest every day.”
“They face relentless climate challenges, food insecurity, sexual violence, abductions, and more,” Bahous said.
South Sudan has one of the highest rates of gender-based violence in the region, with an estimated 2.7 million people at risk, she stressed.
Bahous also reminded the member states that peacekeeping “disinvestment” will impact women and girls most. “We owe them better.”
She urged the “norm” of women’s participation at all levels of social and political life in South Sudan.
“There is simply no more proven pathway to sustainable peace than women’s leadership and meaningful inclusion in conflict resolution,” she added.