South Sudan: Oxfam calls on UN Security Council to fund strong peacekeeping force

Inadequate numbers of peacekeepers for the next mission in South Sudan risk endangering thousands of lives and future stability, a news release from Oxfam argues:

As the Security Council this week debates the future of the mission, Oxfam warned that failure to fully fund and resource it – including by slashing troop or civilian staffing numbers due to cost concerns – would undermine the progress that has been made over the past six years.

“If there was ever a time for the Security Council and countries that contribute to peace keeping to support the people of Sudan, it is now. Violence is rising and this isn’t the time to go cheap by cutting on the budget of the future UN mission, on the number of boots on the ground or the number of civilian staff. They must walk the talk and provide their strong backing in a time of optimism but also extreme tension for the people of South Sudan,” said Kirsten Hagon, Head of Oxfam’s New York Office.

Read more of the background to South Sudan on the Oxfam blog. Should you feel moved to tweet on this, @WilliamJHague and @UKUN_NewYork are good accounts to copy it to.