South Sudan: UN Security Council Endorses New Nation for UN Membership
By staff writer
NEW YORK---The U.N. Security Council on Wednesday recommended to the General Assembly that the newly born nation, Republic of South Sudan be admitted to membership in the United Nations, bringing the new nation one step closer to becoming the world body’s 193rd member.
The Council’s decisive step to recommending South Sudan's admission was contained in a resolution that it adopted without a vote, on the recommendation of its Committee on the Admission of New Members, which reviewed the application for membership submitted by President Salva Kiir Mayardit to the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki- moon.
Kiir wrote in the letter dated July 9 that he submits an application for membership in UN General Assembly as a "full Member State."
In a statement read out by Guido Westerwelle, Foreign Minister of Germany, which holds the Council’s rotating presidency this month, the 15-member body noted “with great satisfaction” South Sudan’s solemn commitment to uphold the purposes and principles of the UN Charter and to fulfil all the obligations contained therein.
“We look forward to the Republic of South Sudan joining us as a member of the United Nations and to working closely with its representatives,” the statement added.
“Our responsibilities are enormous and the role of the UN is vital, but it is complicated,” said moon. “We must continue to help – to help the new nation become a nation – to help the region consolidate the gains. This is the ultimate test of peacebuilding and of nation-building.”
It will now be for the Assembly to act on the Council’s recommendation, which comes just days after South Sudan officially broke away from the rest of Sudan on 9 July.
South Sudan is now ranked at the bottom of almost all human development indicators.
The Council Wednesday, also heard a briefing from its peacekeeping chief regarding the new UN Mission in the Republic of South Sudan (UNMISS), which was set up last week to help the new nation consolidate peace and lay the foundation for longer-term state-building, conflict prevention and economic development.
The new mission, comprising up to 7,000 military personnel and up to 900 civilian police personnel as well as a civilian component, takes over from the UN Mission in Sudan (UNMIS), which was created following the signing of the CPA.
South Sudan’s independence is the result of the January 2011 referendum held under the terms of the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) that ended the decades-long civil war between the North and the South.