Acting Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General (SRSG) and Head of the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS), Anita Kiki Gbeho, arrived in Torit on Tuesday and announced plans to close the UNMISS office there.
The UN Mission attributed the closure of the Torit office to a global funding crisis that has forced it to reduce its operations by 18 percent.
The plan came days after the visit of UN Under-Secretary-General for Peace Operations Jean-Pierre Lacroix, during which he briefed the diplomatic community about the impact of the United Nations-wide financial crisis on the peacekeeping mission in South Sudan.
Speaking shortly after meeting Governor Louis Lobong, Kiki revealed that the UNMISS Torit office will be closed by the end of the year.
“I have come to Torit with a small team to come and inform the governor that we are planning to close up the office here in Torit and to assure him that even though the mission is scaling down in Torit, we are not leaving the country, and we are not abandoning Eastern Equatoria,” she stated. “We are beginning the discussion on how we can work together to ensure that priority activities continue to move forward and also to look at what we try as we draw down to support the state priorities.”
She explained that the closure of the Torit office global funding cut.
“We have received the instruction to reduce our budget by 18 percent, and because our budget has already started, that means that is more like 25 percent, and so, this means we have to make hard decisions,” Kiki stated. “The fact that we feel confident to withdraw from Torit is a testimony to the work that has been done here to maintain peace and stability.”
She said that seeing that there are still challenges, the Mission will continue to try and continue to support the governor and the state.
Meanwhile, Governor Lobong expressed gratitude to the Mission, acknowledged the current global funding crisis, and said he had hoped they would stay in the state till after the elections.
“It was a pleasure receiving Her Excellency Kiki, who is acting SRSG in South Sudan, and her team. They have come and briefed the state government about the plan to close the office of UNMISS here in Torit, and we shared a lot, as you have heard from her. It is a condition because there are global challenges, and not only here in South Sudan,” he said. “We wanted them to stay longer, maybe until after the election, but the conditions that have been enumerated are accepted. I welcome the idea, and I promise her that the state government will work to make sure that the closure here goes very smoothly. We will continue to cooperate with the staff of UNMISS here.”
Lobong said UNMISS will continue serving the state from Juba.
The funding crisis caused by delays and shortfalls in payments of cash contributions, including to peacekeeping missions, means UNMISS will have to cut spending, which will negatively impact mandate delivery at a time when the fragile country is experiencing significant turmoil.