File: UN Security Council in session

The United Nations Security Council has imposed a three-month cessation of hostilities resolution on South Sudan and four other conflict zones around the world.

The council directs South Sudan to immediately disengage from any acts of violence to allow for delivery of humanitarian assistance and medical evacuations.

This is also due to the impact the coronavirus is having on the local population.

The declaration targets countries still experiencing conflicts including Syria, Yemen, Libya, South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

On Tuesday, the UN the Humanitarian Coordinator in South Sudan an aid worker was killed in Lakes State over the weekend.

The unknown assailant shot at a driver of a “clearly marked ambulance [who] was transporting an injured person to a hospital following inter-communal violence.

UN OCHA noted that the driver is the fifth aid worker killed in South Sudan in 2020.

The UN Security Council’s text calls for “all parties to armed conflicts to engage immediately in a durable humanitarian pause for at least 90 consecutive days.”

It is the first resolution related to the coronavirus that the council has passed.

It does not, however, apply to military operations against ISIS and al-Qaida.

According to experts, unlike resolutions of the U.N. General Assembly, this resolution of the Security Council is legally binding.

The Council is expected to follow through with tougher actions on countries that will violate the 90 consecutive days cessation of hostilities.

It often receives reports from the UN Mission in South Sudan and the UN Secretary-General before taking significant decisions.

UN says a total number of humanitarians killed in the country since 2013 has reached 120.