Thank you Mr. President, and thank you David for your briefing just now, and for all of your excellent work.

We are meeting two months after President Kiir recommitted to a ceasefire in South Sudan, two months after this Council agreed to a Presidential statement with very clear steps. We should be reflecting today on two months of peace, two months of life-saving aid reaching those most in need, two months of UNMISS protecting civilians.

Instead, we’re meeting today as South Sudan spirals deeper into crisis. As we’ve heard so many times, the humanitarian and human rights situation is worsening, the economy is collapsing, and fighting has continued unabated. People are no longer fleeing in their tens of thousands, but in their hundreds of thousands. Over 900,000 South Sudanese now call Uganda home.

This situation underlines not only how severe the situation has become, but also how hollow those promises sounded to the people of South Sudan when President Kiir made them two months ago.

We all know what needs to happen. President Kiir must take the long overdue steps that he agreed in the IGAD statement in March and that we called for in our Presidential statement. This means granting sustained humanitarian access, allowing the deployment of the regional protection force, enabling UNMISS to fulfill its mandate, and above all, bringing an end to the fighting, not just in words, but through actions that make the people of South Sudan feel safe in their own homes, in their own country.

President Kiir this Monday once again declared a unilateral ceasefire and said he has once again agreed to consider the release of political prisoners. We welcome these statements, but the onus is now on him to prove that these are meaningful commitments, and not just convenient timing with the start of the rainy season, when fighting is made more difficult. I note with scepticism, but not surprise, that on the day that the ceasefire was announced, government offensives continued in Yei, and attacks by militia groups continue still.

We need to see an end to offensive operations, and end to disproportionate responses. We need to see true inclusive engagement with the opposition and civil society. And in turn, yes, we need to see a commitment to a ceasefire from opposition groups as well. President Kiir must begin withdrawing troops from parts of the country, disband ethnic militias, and ensure that humanitarian assistance can reach those in desperate need.

Sadly, the government has repeatedly ignored the requests of this Council, repeatedly ignored too the requests of the African Union and IGAD. Instead of allowing humanitarian access, the government has willfully endangered the most vulnerable, denying aid to those facing famine in Unity state. Instead of allowing UNMISS to fulfill its mandate, the mission has faced significant harassment and worse, with the SPLA threatening to shoot UN peacekeepers if they moved any closer towards Wunkur in Unity state. These are not moves designed to inspire confidence in the commitment of President Kiir.

It’s long past time, Mr. President, for the Government of South Sudan to show a genuine commitment to peace and stability, including by reaching out to the opposition. We will of course support political efforts which are truly inclusive. But we must learn from the past and not make the same mistake of relying on just the promise of dialogue. We will also need to keep up the pressure, and by that I mean we must use all of the tools at our disposal to encourage the Government of Sudan to take those steps, and for the opposition to follow suit. We need to show that there are consequences should they fail to do so.

Earlier today we renewed the sanctions regime that enables us to do just that. We should be willing to use this regime to send a clear message to anyone who continues to fail to deliver peace. And as I have said on numerous occasions in this chamber, we also need to restrict the flow of weapons into South Sudan. This Council has a responsibility to do all we can to bring peace to South Sudan. It’s a responsibility that we are not yet fulfilling. All of us in this chamber, in the UN and across the region must redouble our efforts; we owe it to the people of South Sudan.

Thank you.

Thank you Mr. President, and thank you, Special Representative Kubis for your briefing this morning.

Your Mission is carrying out an important function at a critical time for Iraq, supporting the Government as it seeks to spread stability and security across the country.

At the outset, I want to commend the brave men and women of the Iraqi Security Forces. Thanks to their bravery and sacrifice, Daesh now controls less than 12 square kilometres of territory in Iraq. Soon it will be none; Mosul will be liberated, and Daesh’s so called Caliphate will have been brought to an end.

But as the Secretary-General makes clear in his report, until that happens, until Iraq is free from the terrible scourge of Daesh, families will continue to be subjected to horrific violence at the hands of these fanatics. So we cannot relent in our efforts; we must do everything we can to help them.

The United Kingdom commends Prime Minister Abadi for putting the protection of civilians at the heart of Iraq’s military operations. It is critical that the Iraqi security forces continue to do so throughout the final and most difficult stages.

The United Kingdom is playing its part. As well as supporting the Iraqi security forces through the Global Coalition against Daesh, we have contributed almost $220 million in lifesaving aid to vulnerable displaced families across Iraq, and the UK has pledged almost $12.5 million to support the UN’s Funding Facility for Immediate Stabilisation, to support newly liberated areas. We encourage other donors to contribute to the Humanitarian Response Plan for Iraq.

The conflict has had a disporportionate impact on women and girls. That is why we are also providing $1.2 million to help implement the Iraqi National Action Plan on Women, Peace and Security.

As Daesh’s Caliphate comes to an end, Iraq will need political reconciliation and reform. The UK welcomes the efforts of Iraq’s political leaders to promote national reconciliation, and we urge UNAMI to continue to support this. We also welcome the support Iraq’s neighbours have provided in this time of need and encourage them to continue their solidarity and friendship.

Mr. President,

As this Council knows too well, security and stability will count for little without accountability. That’s why the UK launched, along with Iraq and Belgium, a global push to bring Daesh to justice. As we have said before, time is of the essence; we must start gathering evidence of their crimes before it is lost. Newly liberated areas hold a wealth of evidence against Daesh that the international community must help Iraq collect and preserve. The UK has been working closely with the Government of Iraq and international partners to achieve this.

I welcome the discussions we have had with the Government of Iraq on this issue, and the recent, and significant, statement by Prime Minister Abadi calling at the end of March for “the UN Security Council to issue a resolution to prosecute Daesh’s crimes against civilians”. This was delivered during the Secretary-General’s visit to Baghdad. We believe the UK’s proposal is the clear way forward for the Council to answer Prime Minister Abadi’s call. We look forward to working with our Iraqi colleagues so that the proposal can be finalized as soon as possible. As the global community works together to defeat Daesh, we must work together to hold them to account.

Mr. President,

As the Council lead on resolution 2107, the UK welcomes the Secretary-General’s latest report on the issue of missing Kuwaiti persons and property. Unfortunately, despite the strengthening of bilateral relations between Iraq and Kuwait, there has been no progress on returning Kuwaiti property this year. I want to extend our support to all parties in their efforts to achieve tangible progress in the next year.

Because ultimately, Mr. President, we all want to see a stable, secure, prosperous and unified Iraq. The UK stands ready to work with the Government of Iraq and our international partners to build the better future all Iraqis want and deserve.

UNAMI will play a critical role in this effort. On behalf of the United Kingdom, I thank the Special Representative and his staff for their work at such a significant point in Iraq’s history.

Thank you.