International NGOs meeting in New York have urged the international community to put more pressure on the warring parties in South Sudan in order to stop the conflict.

The coalition of the NGOs issued a joint statement on the Occasion of the Ministerial High-Level Meeting on South Sudan during the 69th Session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York yesterday.

They said more strategic international pressure is needed on the leadership of the country to bring about lasting peace in South Sudan.

The NGOs said, as the humanitarian toll of South Sudan’s nine-month civil war mounts, it is clear that member states attending meeting at the UN General Assembly cannot positively influence outcomes in South Sudan without significantly enhancing their leverage over the warring parties.

They said achieving a permanent cessation of hostilities, a meaningful peace agreement, and unimpeded humanitarian access will be impossible as long as South Sudanese leaders disregard the suffering of their own people.

The coalition of these NGOs include Aegis Trust, American Jewish World Service, Catholic Relief Services, Coalition of Advocates for South Sudan, The Enough Project, Humanity United, Institute on Religion and Democracy, International Rescue Committee, Jewish World Watch, Mercy Corps, Oxfam, PAX, Saferworld, STAND: The Student-Led Movement to End Mass Atrocities, Sudan Advocacy Action Forum, United to End Genocide and the Voices for Sudan