1 December 2011
Juba — A joint meeting of the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) and the Government of South Sudan involving discussion on preparations of mechanisms for the implementation of the UN mandate in the newly independent state in Juba on Thursday.
In the meeting co-chaired by the South Sudan vice president, Riek Machar, and special representative of the UN secretary general, Hilde Johnson, also involved discussion of the deployment of UN forces.
Johnson, in the presence of the visiting UN under-secretary general for field support, Susana Malcorra, briefed the meeting. The UNMISS force commander, Moses Obi, also briefed the meeting on the proposed deployments of the UN forces.
Johnson informed the meeting about the Russian government’s decision to ground its helicopters in South Sudan following a recent incident in Eastern Equatoria state where a helicopter was reportedly shot at by unidentified gunmen.
South Sudan had already expressed regret over the incident to Russian diplomats in South Sudan. It was noted that South Sudan will further contact the Russian government with the aim of resolving the matter so that the helicopters may resume their flights.
The implementation of mechanisms of Disarmament Demobilisation and Reintegration (DDR) program as presented by the representative of the DDR commission and how the UN can support the program were also discussed.
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