The IGAD Plot To Put South Sudan Under International Trusteeship Article 78 provides; “the trusteeship system shall not apply to territories which have become members of the United Nations, relationship among which shall be based on the respect for the principle of sovereign equality.” 20 July 2016
By Thiik Giir Thiik On 11 July 2016 in Nairobi, Kenya, after holding their 56th Extra-Ordinary Session, the IGAD Council of Ministers issued a Communiqué on the Situation in South Sudan. The Session was chaired by Ethiopia/Troika and was attended by Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of the Republic of South Sudan, Dr Cirino Hiteng who subsequently lost his job. After the Council received briefing from H.E. Festus Mogae, Chairman of the Joint Monitoring and Evaluation Commission (JMEC) followed by extensive discussion on the security situation in Juba, the Council demanded, among others, the “re-opening of the Juba International Airport to be protected by UNMISS;” and “Urgent revision of the UNMISS mandate to establish an intervention brigade and increase numbers of troops from the region to inter alia secure Juba.” Subsequently, the IGAD Assembly of Heads of State and Government on 16 July 2016 in Kigali, Rwanda consulted with their colleagues representing the five regions of Africa referred to as the IGAD Plus and deliberated on the prevailing situation in South Sudan and issued a Communiqué. In the opening numbered paragraph of their Communiqué they indorsed and (1) Took note of the communiqué of the 56th Extra-Ordinary Session of the IGAD Council of Ministers issued in Nairobi on 11 July 2016, they also (8) Supported the recommendations by the United Nations Secretary General to re-enforce the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS); and (9) Called upon the UN Security Council to extend the mission of UNMISS with a revised mandate to inter alia serve as a protection force to separate the warring parties, protect major installations and the civilian population, as well as pacification of Juba. As can be seen, the IGAD are yet again at it with their scheme to have the Republic of South Sudan put under international trusteeship, but what could be more disrespectful to the People of South Sudan than the scheme to put South Sudan under international trusteeship? In fact, people of the Republic of South Sudan, regardless of their ethnicity, should stop for a moment and seriously question the motives of anyone who argues for such an intervention. Now, let us take a moment and look at the general argument in Chapter XII, Articles 75 and 76 of the Charter of the United Nations, which allows the United Nations to establish international trusteeship systems for the administration and supervision of trust territories. This however, is a disjunctive reading of the Charter of the United Nations as it deliberately ignores the subsequent provisions of Chapter XII, Articles 77 and 78 of the same Charter of the United Nations, which are key to understanding the conditions under which the international trusteeship system can be applied. The question should therefore be; under what conditions can the Republic of South Sudan be put under international trusteeship? The answer to that is clearly - Under NO Condition. It is neither in the tradition of the United Nations nor stipulated anywhere in the available legal instruments that a sovereign state can be put under international trusteeship. For example, Chapter XII, Article 77 (1) (a), (b) and (c) of the Charter of the United Nations clearly explain the categories of territories that may be put under the international trusteeship system. For clarity, the Republic of South Sudan does not fit the definition of such territories as described in Article 77 of the Charter of the United Nations, as it is neither of the following: a. A territory held under mandate; b. A territory that may be detached from enemy states as a result of the Second World War; c. A territory voluntarily put under the system by state(s) responsible for its administration. Unless Ethiopia feel it fits the description in Chapter XII, Article 77 (1) (C) maybe then Article 77 (2) would prevail in favour of Ethiopia, which states “It will be a matter for subsequent agreement as to which territories in the foregoing categories will be brought under the trusteeship system and upon what terms.” But, even without any further considerations, Article 77 should suffice as a protection of the sovereignty of the Republic of South Sudan from any attempts to administer it under the framework of the international trusteeship system. However, in case a further justification is needed, then Article 78 closes the debate with definite finality. Article 78 provides; “the trusteeship system shall not apply to territories which have become members of the United Nations, relationship among which shall be based on the respect for the principle of sovereign equality.” Clearly, nothing needs to be added to this precise and clear provision, maybe only a gentle reminder that the Republic of South Sudan was officially admitted as the 193rd member state of the United Nations on 14 July 2011 and thus is no longer a ‘territory’ but a sovereign member state of the United Nations. So, it should be noted here that the sole purpose of these instruments is to safeguard and guarantee the right of each individual sovereign state to exercise its political choice in an environment free from any overbearing or high-handed stances of other states or organizations. It is therefore both a tradition and role of the United Nations to protect the fundamental right of states to self-determination and popular sovereignty as particularly provided for in the Charter of the United Nations in the following articles: Article 1(2) “equal rights and self-determination of peoples”; Article 2(1) “principle of sovereign equality of member states”; Article 2(4) “refrain from threat or use of force against territorial integrity or political independence of any state”; Article 2(7) “non-interference in matters that are essentially within the domestic jurisdiction of any state”. Furthermore, the commitment of the United Nations to live up to these ideals was demonstrated on 14 December 1960 when the General Assembly denounced colonialism and made the Declaration of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples. By this action, the United Nations affirmed its respect for sovereignty of states and peoples and committed itself to the protection of such rights. The Republic of South Sudan deserves nothing less. It is therefore unthinkable for a nation that has shed blood to liberate itself from the yolk of colonialism now to be asked to hand over their hard fought sovereignty simply because it has resources to be plundered. Troika/Ethiopia need to think again. Posted in: Opinions <http://www.gurtong.net/ECM/Editorial/tabid/124/ctl/CategoryView/mid/519/categoryId/24/Opinions.aspx> - See more at: http://gurtong.net/ECM/Editorial/tabid/124/ID/19671/Default.aspx#sthash.WYVL797e.dpuf -- To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] Visit this group at https://groups.google.com/d/forum/southsudankob View this message at https://groups.google.com/d/msg/southsudankob/topic-id/message-id For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "South Sudan Info - The Kob" group. 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