Foreign Affairs Minister Tedros Adhanom has appealed for urgent humanitarian aid to South Sudan internally displaced peoples and refugees.
South Sudan should be given a comprehensive assistance, he said at a High-Level Event on the Humanitarian situation in South Sudan held yesterday at the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York.
The conflict has induced tremendous humanitarian tragedy which caused the displacement and suffering of hundreds of thousands of people.
The international community should provide, as a matter of urgency, the necessary humanitarian support to the South Sudanese, the minister urged.
He also confirmed the commitment of IGAD for the continuation of the full support to South Sudan so that the country could rebuild its institutions.
"I wish to assure you that we in the IGAD will continue to do our level best to assist our sisters and brothers in South Sudan to achieve sustainable peace. We are also conscious that South Sudan's stability is very critical for our region, and achieving it would require patience, perseverance and resolve," he underscored.
First Vice President of South Sudan, Tabal Deng, said on his part the government has come with an action plan which would ensure access to humanitarian operations and facilitate aid deliveries, which he said include removal of unnecessary restrictions, and ensuring flight safety assurance ease of customs clearance among others. Equally, he added, humanitarian personnel should also take note of the cultures and traditions of the people they are supposed to work with.
Noting that "the difference between success and failure is very narrow", the First Vice President appealed for the United Nations and the donor community to continue extending the support of funding that the country is dearly looking for.
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon indicated that he has issued the launch of an investigation into the humanitarian crisis in South Sudan.
The Secretary General stated that the humanitarian situation in South Sudan has reached unacceptable levels.