Ms Anne O'Mahony:

In the first instance I will address some of the issues relating to staff security. Concern always weighs up the risks involved and it is always an issue of risk versus need. If there is no great need, then the pressure on us is not great. When the need is great, however, we are obliged to make decisions on a daily basis as to who can go forward and who cannot. Of course there are risks. We are involved in food distribution, which brings with it a huge amount of risk. What we have done is build extra barriers, brought in additional staff and tried to keep people back as much as possible from the actual distribution sites before letting them through gradually in a more controlled fashion. We have also tried to focus on women at distribution points rather than men. There are various security issues which we face on a daily basis. However, we have good security controls in place.

We have good communication systems, interaction and information sharing. There is a good deal of coming together around security issues with the various NGOs and the United Nations to look at how to keep people safe, the best evacuation procedures and where people should stay. There are major concerns and issues but we try to minimise the risks as much as possible. However, at the end of the day, we have a job to do and people will take risks to do it. Concern has 219 national staff working in South Sudan as well as 25 expatriates. It is easy to consider the national staff as one group, but if we are working in Bentiu we cannot place Dinka there and we will not hire Nuer there. Consequently we have to bring equatorial staff in there. We have to consider the ethnic mix in every location where we are situated to ensure the staff are safe and that we are not fuelling conflict by bringing in undesirables, as perceived by the local populations. These are all issues that we must take into consideration when we are planning for staff.

Reference was made to effective ways of holding people to account for what is going on in the country. The International Criminal Court is there. The ICC has done a good job with some people who have been brought to trial. However, this is only a tiny portion of what needs to be done. I am afraid there is increasing disrespect in various countries in Africa for the role and function of the ICC. This disrespect has been led primarily by Kenya because the Kenyan President has been indicted for war crimes and is trying to generate the idea of Africa marching away from away from the ICC. The court is looked on very unfavourably. Bashir, the President of Sudan has already been indicted for war crimes and has never been picked up or presented. He visits other African countries and there is no duty or perceived duty within other African countries to hand him over. At the moment the court is not proving an effective deterrent instrument to deal with the conflict.

Let us consider the position of Salva Kiir Mayardit, the current President of South Sudan. He came out of the jungle and the war and assumed the position of statesman three years ago, although for 40 or 50 years he had been fighting in the jungle. It is an altogether different role for him and I am unsure how far he has made the transition from rebel fighter to statesman as well as taking on the role and responsibility of leader. A leader has responsibilities for his citizens. Whether we are referring to Riek Machar on the Nuer side of the coin or Salva Kiir Mayardit as the President, these leaders have responsibilities and obligations to their citizens. The committee is right to suggest that they seem to look at the humanitarian issue as filling in the blanks for their non-recognition of the problems that conflict between their peoples are causing. It is a major issue in terms of perception of what leadership roles are all about. Again, an entire education field is necessary on that score in examining how to address issues of leadership.

Cholera is a major issue. Concern is leading a working group in Juba dealing with cholera. The committee is correct: at the moment over 40 people have died from the disease. A recent estimate suggested that a further 100,000 people are directly at risk of suffering in the near future. We are part of a working group that is putting out messaging relating to water and sanitation issues to try to control the spread and transmission of cholera in overcrowded areas. The internally displaced people camps in Juba are not places where anyone would wish to live. It is the same in Bentiu and some of the other IDP locations. They are all at risk but we are looking at strong messaging and strong water and sanitation interventions to try to control the situation, as much as possible. Furthermore, we try to link in with the medical organisations to ensure that they have stocks and supplies pre-positioned to enable a response.