The European Parliament adopted a resolution on the humanitarian situation in South Sudan.

The text adopted in plenary was tabled by the EPP, S&D, ECR, ALDE, Greens/EFA and the EFDD groups.

A political conflict started after Salva Kiir, the country’s president, accused his sacked vice-president, Riek Machar, of plotting a coup d’état against him. Riek Machar has denied attempting such a coup. According to UN estimates, more than 10 000 people have died during months of fighting, and extraordinary acts of cruelty and ethnic violence amounting to war crimes have been widely reported.

An estimated 3.8 million South Sudanese people are in need of humanitarian assistance, 1.4 million are internally displaced and more than 470 000 are seeking refuge in neighbouring countries. 3.5 million people in South Sudan have been reached with humanitarian assistance since the beginning of the year.

Respecting the ceasefire agreement: reaffirming the humanitarian crisis in South Sudan, Parliament strongly condemned the resumption of violence and the repeated past violations of the cessation of hostilities agreement which was signed on 23 January 2014 and reconfirmed on 9 May 2014, and which continues to be breached without any punitive measures being implemented. The resolution urged all parties to honour the agreement and to engage constructively, through dialogue and cooperation, in the Addis Ababa peace talks, with a view to the full implementation of the ceasefire agreement and the rapid resumption of talks leading to the formation of a transitional government of national unity.

Members also called for credible, transparent and comprehensive investigations that meet international standards in relation to all allegations of serious crimes by any party to the conflict. They encouraged the establishment of transitional justice mechanisms, with all the necessary international support, to promote both reconciliation and accountability whilst encouraging the Government of South Sudan to accede to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court as soon as possible.

Targeted actions: whilst regretting the ineffectiveness of the targeted sanctions imposed by the EU, Parliament called for targeted sanctions to be imposed by the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), the African Union and the global community. It supported the continuation of the arms embargo against South Sudan and urges the adoption of a UN arms embargo against South Sudan and the region as a whole.

Humanitarian aid: the EU has provided more than one third (38%) of all international contributions in response to the humanitarian crisis in South Sudan, with the Commission alone increasing its humanitarian aid budget for the crisis to over EUR 130 million in 2014.

Parliament encouraged the EU to reprogramme its development assistance in order to meet the most urgent needs of the South Sudanese people, and to support a transition towards peace and stability. It also welcomed the suspension of development assistance through budget support for South Sudan, with the exception of actions which provide direct support to the population or direct support for democratic transition and humanitarian aid.

Lastly, Parliament insisted that humanitarian aid and food assistance must be provided to the most vulnerable purely on a needs basis and that aid, especially in the form of basic services and food assistance, should not be diverted to armed groups.

Long-term strategy: Parliament insisted on the fact that building the appropriate institutions and legal framework to manage its oil wealth within its ethnic federalism is key to its peaceful development. South Sudanese authorities are urged to make sure that oil revenues benefit the people.

In this respect, it called on the EU to support a long-term development strategy for South Sudan which enables the creation of a strong system of good governance, transparency and accountability (particularly as regards implementation of the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative), and the development of infrastructure, education, health and social welfare programmes which use oil and development aid revenues.