Security Council Briefed on South Sudan: First National Elections Since Independence Six Weeks Away, 2.5 Million Face Emergency Hunger
New York — The UN Security Council was briefed on South Sudan in New York on November 10. Anita Kiki Gbeho, the head of the UN Mission in South Sudan, told the Council that with the country six weeks away from its first national vote since independence, the real test is whether the political transition holds together beyond polling day.
Elections and the transition
Gbeho said the central challenge facing South Sudan today is whether the transition remains anchored in the Revitalized Peace Agreement and whether the gains of recent years can be preserved and sustained beyond the election.
UN reporting said the elections are set for 22 December. In September, President Salva Kiir dissolved the transitional unity government, removed all vice-presidents, including First Vice-President Riek Machar, and appointed a caretaker administration.
Humanitarian and security conditions
The UN estimates that 2.5 million South Sudanese face emergency levels of hunger, and that 73,300 are in catastrophic conditions.
UN News live coverage of the Council meeting also noted that clashes in Upper Nile state have displaced more than 35,000 people. The meeting covered the political transition, electoral preparations, renewed fighting and the humanitarian situation, and Gbeho briefed members on the Secretary-General report numbered S/2026/853.
Gbeho told the 15-member body that the true measure of success is simple: whether South Sudanese citizens are safer tomorrow than they are today.
(Source: United Nations)
Source: United Nations
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：联合国南苏丹特派团维和人员在南苏丹（资料图）。照片：公共领域，经 Wikimedia Commons。 / Photo: UNMISS peacekeepers in South Sudan (file photo). Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
