South Sudan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has said it is verifying the identities of 23 South Sudanese set for deportation from the United States before they are officially received in the country.

“We have received a formal of communication from the State Department through our Embassy in Washington DC, and also the same communication has come to us through the U.S. Embassy in Juba.

“We were provided with a list of 23 South Sudanese nationals, who are to be removed from the United States of America”, said Ambassador Apuk Ayuel Mayen, the Ministry’s Spokesperson.

Early this month, President Trump took recent steps to deport illegal immigrants to secure the U.S. border and detain undocumented individuals.

According to Ambassador Apuk Ayuel Mayen, the Ministry’s Spokesperson, the U.S. government has formally communicated the request for the facilitation of the removal of South Sudanese Nationals on the list of deportation through both the South Sudanese Embassy in Washington, D.C., and the U.S. Embassy in Juba.

Ayuel acknowledged that the move is a sovereign decision of the United States Government and has no objection to receiving its nationals.

Ambassador Apuk told Eye Radio Friday that the list is now undergoing verification by relevant South Sudanese authorities.

” This list is pending verification by the authorities of South Sudan, the relevant authorities, and this will be done through our consular services department.  I think it’s mostly men.

She said the exercise will be done through the Department of Consular Services of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in coordination with the relevant institutions, including the Department of Nationalities and Passports.

Ambassador Apuk clarified that deportation costs are covered by the deporting country, in this case, the U.S.

However, South Sudan is expected to facilitate necessary documentation for those without valid travel papers.

“Mostly in accordance to customary international law, the country that is reporting is the one that facilitates and takes care of the cost of deportation.

“What is required of us is facilitation in terms of provision of documentation to those who don’t have documentation, like the travel documents.

 

However, she said “We need to verify, first of all. If these are all South Sudanese nationals, we will do that through the relevant authorities, maybe nationalities and passports, immigration. “

She said the Consular Services Department at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will serve as the focal point for the deportation process and will coordinate with the families of the returnees.

Diplomat Ayuel said the Foreign Ministry also requested the U.S. Embassy to ensure the list of deportees be classified regarding the cause of their removal from the United States to assist in conducting due diligence before their arrival in the country.

“However, we will also have to take our own due diligence, and this is one of the things that we are requesting from the U.S. Embassy.

“We would do our verification of origin, but we also are requesting a classification of those who are to be deported, in terms of the issue that causes the deportation.

Amb. Ayuel  added that the development is the result of U.S. immigration crackdown which has seen deportations from multiple countries, not just South Sudan.

“This policy is not targeting South Sudan.  It is a policy of the new administration. It is an urgent request by the administration through the embassy, and they would like this process to be fast-tracked’, she added.

The Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Food Security has revealed that the institution has lost many assets at the Aweil Rice scheme due to interference from Northern Bahr el Ghazal State.

” We lost many assets at the Aweil Rice Ccheme because of the continuous interference from the state and it’s not in Northern Bahr el Ghazal alone, is all over the other states of South Sudan”, said Lily Albino Akol at launch of Aweil rice harvesting and winnowing for 2024–2025 early this week.

Minister Lily commended the efforts of partners in supporting farmers to boost the rice production.

However, she accused unnamed individuals in Northern Bah el Ghazal state of having encroached into the rice scheme and privatized assets meant for the project, among others.

“When his Excellency the President brought 1,000 tractors, the Aweil Rice scheme was given 20 tractors alone And Northern Bahr el Ghazal state was given 60 tractors. I was surprised to see that, the Aweil Rice scheme was hiring tractors from the private sector and  turned out they were our tractors.

She called for collaboration between the state authorities and the national government in managing the scheme.

Minister Mrs Alino went on to question the government Northern Bahr el Ghazal state for hiring out the Aweil Rice scheme land to the private sector.

” You cannot hire out this land to the private sector, it’s a huge land. Let private sector go to other bases that are not yet rehabilitated because they can do that.

The deputy agriculture minister said her ministry is considering restructuring the Aweil rice scheme including defining state and national assets to address the issue of interference from the local government

“So that assets are separated, what belongs to the rice scheme comes back to the rice scheme, then we can talk now about the management of the rice scheme.

“The rice scheme is within Northern Bahr el Ghazal state, and there’s no way we are going to exclude the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security from being there in the management of the scheme”, she added.

The Aweil Rice Scheme is a rice farm in South Sudan’s Northern Bahr el Ghazal State.

It was established in 1944 by the British Colonial Administration but the decades of conflict between then Northern and Southern Sudan disrupted the project.

In 2023, the government launched the Scheme to revamp the project with the aim to address the food insecurity in the country.

The Kenyan mediators have tasked the heads of government and opposition delegations to the Tumaini Initiative to co-chair the discussions on the root causes of the conflict in South Sudan.

This followed what the Ambassador Mohamed Ali Guyo said a good, constructive, positive deliberation by the parties, the government, opposition and the stakeholders on Thursday.

“We had a good, constructive, positive deliberation by the parties, the government, opposition and the stakeholders.”

According to Guyo, during yesterday’s session, the opposition and stakeholders presented their views and analysis on the root causes of conflict in South Sudan.

Ambassador Guyo said the peace process has seen a positive progress, showing the level of trust and confidence that is building between all the stakeholders.

“This is indeed an excellent progress. It shows the level of trust and confidence that is building between all the stakeholder, and the government and the opposition.”

Guyo also commended the parties for exercising the spirit of collegiality in the process.

“The progress we have made so far is spirit of collegiality and partnership that has been seen as attested to by yesterday’s joint press conference.

“This time, the meeting will be co-chaired by leaders of government delegation and the opposition”, he added.

The parties will today reflect on the root causes of the conflict in South Sudan, before meeting on Saturday.