on this country’s situation and activities of the UN Mission there (UNMISS) on June 23.

Ambassador Dang Dinh Quy, head of Vietnam’s mission to the UN (Photo: VNA)

UN Secretary-General’s Special Representativefor South Sudan and head of UNMISS David Shearer, and Executive Director of theCommunity Empowerment for Progress Organisation (CEPO) in South Sudan EdmundYakani delivered reports at the event.

According to them, there have been encouragingsteps in South Sudan recently, especially the formation of the transitionalgovernment on February 22, with former opposition leader Riek Marchar appointedas First Vice President. 

The new cabinet also includes one vice presidentand nine ministers who are women while relevant parties there reached anagreement on the allocation of states, they noted.

However, conflicts between the government’stroops and armed groups that haven’t taken part in the 2018 peace deal, as wellas the violence among communities, are tending to escalate.

Besides, the COVID-19 pandemic has hit hard theeconomic and humanitarian situations in South Sudan and hampered thetransitional period as its government has to focus on dealing with theoutbreak, the reports added.

As of June 23, South Sudan recorded 1,892COVID-19 cases, including three vice presidents and nine ministers. There werealso 34 deaths from the viral disease.

David Shearer said the UNMISS has continuedefforts to protect civilians amid the spread of COVID-19, pointing out somedifficulties the mission is facing as the local government has issued travelrestrictions to curb the pandemic. He also called on the UN Security Counciland the Intergovernmental Authority on Development to keep promoting relevantparties in South Sudan to push ahead with the peace agreement.

At the meeting, some member countries of the UNSecurity Council urged the parties in South Sudan to fully implement the peaceand ceasefire agreements while welcoming some positive developments recently.They showed their support for the international community to increaseassistance for South Sudan to handle humanitarian issues and COVID-19 impacts.Some suggested the country pay attention to exercise justice during thetransitional period, fight corruption, and ensure the rights to freedom andparticipation of people, especially women, during the process of nationalreconstruction.

For his part, Ambassador Dang Dinh Quy, head ofVietnam’s mission to the UN, highly valued the recent progress in South Sudanand its transitional government’s efforts to cope with COVID-19. 

He also sympathised with difficulties incarrying out the peace agreement due to the pandemic and noted that theceasefire deal has been basically observed though certain complications remain.

Reiterating Vietnam’s support for the UNMISS,Quy also informed participations about efforts by Vietnam’s level-2 fieldhospital in Bentiu city in the COVID-19 pandemic. 

The country now has 68 officers at the UNMISS,including 11 females.

Vietnam officially took part in UN peacekeepingoperations by sending two officers to the UNMISS in 2014. Its level-2 fieldhospital has been deployed in Bentiu since 2018. From the beginning of 2020 toJune 10, this hospital handled 927 patients. Its members have also participatedin anti-COVID-19 training for UN staff and local people.

Vietnam voices concerns over armed conflicts’ impact on children

Ambassador Dang Dinh Quy, head of the Vietnam Mission to the United Nations, voiced concerns over children’s situation in armed conflicts and emphasised the need for the international community to take specific measures and actions to minimise conflicts’ impact on children.

Addressing the UN Security Council Open Debate on Children and Armed Conflict on June 23, Quy also stressed the importance of education and vocational training, especially for children during the community reintegration process.

Amid complicated developments of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Vietnamese diplomat called on the UN and nations to keep a close watch on the disease and coordinate closely in minimising its impact on children.

According to the UN assessments, the implementation of the Children and Armed Conflict agenda produced positive results in 2019 with over 13,000 rescued from armed forces, and 30 action plans to prevent violations against children adopted.

However, there remained 25,000 violation cases involved in children, in which over 10,000 cases saw children killed or injured. Conflicts, violence, instability and the COVID-19’s negative impact are hindering efforts to protect children.

Participating countries agreed to integrate child protection efforts into activities to stop and address conflicts and in post-conflict reconstruction to build and maintain sustainable peace./.VNA