Leading the News:

South Sudan -

On August 27th, emergency relief teams from the United Nations (U.N.) Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the World Food Programme (WFP) reached more than 27,000 people in the town of Wau Shilluk, South Sudan who have been cut off from receiving humanitarian supplies since March. For the past several months, access problems and concerns for staff safety have prevented humanitarian agencies from reaching people in rural areas in Upper Nile state.

On August 28th, the U.N. Security Council welcomed the recent signature by South Sudanese President Salva Kiir, opposition leader Riek Machar, and others of the Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in South Sudan and called on all parties to implement the accord and adhere to the permanent ceasefire. The Security Council also confirmed its intention to move swiftly to update the mandate of the U.N. Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) to support the implementation of the agreement and expressed its willingness to address any violations or failures of any party to implement its provisions, including through the imposition of an arms embargo and additional sanctions.