Petr Ježek

On 04 June 2015 a coalition of more than 40 MEPs from several political groups sent a letter to EU member states urging them to make generous pledges at a South Sudan donor conference in Geneva on 16th June, and to ensure that they rapidly release the funds they pledge so the money can be used to protect South Sudanese people from a dangerous humanitarian crisis.

MEP Linda McAvan, chair of the European Parliament’s Development Committee, said: “ The South Sudanese are experiencing one of the world’s worst food and protection crises. The EU and some member states have given generously to previous South Sudan humanitarian aid appeals, but now is not the time to say, ‘we did enough’. I believe that European countries must use the occasion of the Geneva donor conference to stand with the people of South Sudan who are suffering from a man-made crisis that is entirely out of their control. Europe must lead the way because it is who we are.”

European parliamentarians are also appealing to EU member states to pledge funds that can be used to help South Sudanese rebuild their livelihoods and support themselves in the long term, for example by re-establishing local markets. Likewise, MEPs are urging member states to put money into child protection and education programmes, to ensure that South Sudan does not lose a generation of children to the conflict.

A new report by the IPC, a global system for tracking food security, projects that by July nearly 40% of the country’s population will be severely food insecure. Households are running out of food in parts of the country that has seen the most intense conflict. In the markets, prices for basic staples like cereals, vegetable oil and sugar are nearly double the norm. People are selling their crops and livestock, and even missing meals, to survive.

Humanitarian funding from the European Commission makes up nearly 11% of all pledged funds to the South Sudan appeal so far in 2015. However, pledges by individual European countries are still in the low single digits, prompting MEPs to push member states to do much more.

MEP Petr Ježek, who spear-headed the joint MEP letter, said: “The situation in South Sudan is becoming worse than ever. Still, we see that humanitarian aid is making a big difference. People in several locations in the country have been kept from the worst levels of food insecurity thanks to humanitarian assistance. As the EU, we have a responsibility to continue using all of our resources to protect even more people.”

MEPs note that fresh fighting by government and opposition forces, which has forced more than 100,000 civilians to flee their homes, is the main reason for the humanitarian catastrophe. Soldiers from both sides are accused of killing civilians and torching entire villages. According to UNICEF, children are being killed, raped, kidnapped and recruited by armed groups.

MEP Louis Michel, chair of the Delegation to the ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly, who served as Belgium’s Foreign Minister from 1999-2004, said: “

It is imperative that the International community takes action to meet the humanitarian needs of the South Sudanese people. But a lasting solution requires political solution. It is high time that the parties agree on a comprehensive and inclusive peace agreement.

As said UN Secretary General "no sustainable peace will be found in South Sudan unless its leaders place the interests of the civilian population above their own"

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