The United Nations has warned that its peacekeeping mission in South Sudan is at risk due to restrictive conditions imposed by the government.
A senior UN official said on Tuesday that the constraints could derail a contingency plan meant to downsize the mission following major US budget cuts.
Jean-Pierre Lacroix, head of UN Peace Operations, told the Security Council that the plan includes closing field offices, repatriating troops, and reducing staff.
He said the downsizing, forced by a 25-percent funding reduction, was necessary to sustain operations amid shrinking global peacekeeping budgets.
Lacroix explained that South Sudan initially endorsed the measures during his visit to Juba in October but later reversed its stance.
The government’s new conditions, he warned, are “impractical” and could “pose a serious threat to the viability of the plan, and potentially to the Mission itself.”
He cautioned that without “greater understanding and flexibility” from the South Sudanese authorities, the mission’s ability to carry out its mandate would be gravely weakened.
UNMISS, established in 2011 when South Sudan gained independence, has more than 13,000 soldiers and 1,500 police officers deployed across the country.
The mission helped preserve a fragile peace after a brutal civil war between 2013 and 2018 that killed 400,000 people and displaced four million others.
However, renewed tensions have erupted this year between the camps of President Salva Kiir and his detained deputy, Riek Machar, threatening to plunge the nation back into conflict.
South Sudan’s UN ambassador, Cecilia Adeng, acknowledged the financial constraints but urged the United Nations to consult closely with Juba before making structural changes.
The warning underscores growing fears that funding shortfalls and political friction could jeopardise one of the UN’s most critical peacekeeping operations in Africa.
