Unity State Government reverses decision to expel UN Coordinator

The Unity State Government has reversed a decision to expel the State Coordinator of the UN Mission, UNMISS.

State information Minister, Peter Makuc says the State Council of Ministers sat on Wednesday and decided Mary Cummins was not individually responsible for a recent human rights report that pinned government forces of gross human rights violations in the state.

“We reversed our decision after listening to her and we feel that she is not fully responsible of the report by UNICEF," he says. "Even though she is the head of the mission in the State she is not fully responsible because of that reason we reversed our decision."

Makuc confirms that the State Coordinator is now at her duty station in Bentiu. He says he looks forward to continuing cooperation between the United Nations and the government of Unity State.

"They should cooperate with us as the state government, because we don’t expect them to act as a government inside the government of Unity State. They are partners with us, we also want to facilitate their work.”