UN warns of genocide in South Sudan, US calls for arms embargo

Adama Dieng, a top UN advisor, told reporters on Friday that after a recent trip to South Sudan he sees all the signs of a brewing genocide. Dieng, who is the special advisor on the prevention of genocide and worked on the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, said the incitement of ethnic hatred could lead to the “worst.”

“And when I say the worst, and I do not mean this lightly, that would be a genocide occurring in that country,” he said.

South Sudan gained its independence in 2011, but has been marred by civil war in the years since. Just this summer fighting broke out again between government and opposition forces with civilians caught in the middle.

On Thursday, Dieng briefed the UN Security Council on the situation on the ground and urged them to take action.

“I sounded the alarm,” he said on Friday. “Tomorrow, if the worst happens, I hope it will not happen, but if the worst happens those who did not take action I am afraid they will not be able to sleep peacefully.”

US ambassador to the UN Samantha Power told the Council her government will put forward a resolution calling for an arms embargo in South Sudan.

“As this crisis escalates, we should all flash forward and ask ourselves, how will we feel if Adama Dieng’s warnings come to pass?” she asked.

It is specifically hateful rhetoric aimed at dehumanizing other ethnic groups that has Dieng worried and he compared it to the build-up to the Rwandan genocide when radio stations spewed racist propaganda aimed at Tutsis. He hopes religious leaders in the country can take charge, and possibly even a helping hand from the Bishop of Rome.

“I hope that the government of South Sudan will extend an invitation to the Pope,” he said.

If the humanitarian situation in the country were to deteriorate further, the UN peacekeeping mission in South Sudan would be vital to protect civilians. But when civilians and aid workers were attacked, and in some cases sexually assaulted, in the capital Juba in July, UN peacekeepers turned a blind eye.

The scandal, which has tarnished the UN’s credibility as a stabilizing force in the country, led UN Secretary-General Ban-Ki Moon to fire the commander of the peacekeeping force two weeks ago.