UNITED NATIONS, Sept. 23 (Xinhua) -- Addressing the United Nations (UN)General Assembly's high-level debate, the First Vice President of South Sudan called for incentivizing peace and stability by focusing efforts on development and long-term projects.
"We cannot continue to clean the floor while the tap is open. The old paradigm that humanitarian intervention is first and development later is not a viable policy in the case of South Sudan," Taban Deng Gai told the world body in New York.
He said South Sudan would redouble its efforts to improve access for humanitarian intervention, adding that his country hopes that the international community would recalibrate its development and humanitarian support.
He also noted the need for policies to be "South Sudanese-led" and "home grown" if they are to achieve sustainable results.
The ultimate goal, he said, is "to give an opportunity for peace to all South Sudanese to enable them to choose their own leaders through free, fair and credible elections."
He also said the country has witnessed refugees and internally displaced persons gradually returning home voluntarily, with the National Dialogue Initiative making progress.
Since December 2013, when South Sudan's crisis erupted in its capital Juba, more than two million South Sudanese fled to neighboring countries.
The United Nations estimated that four million people had been displaced internally and externally and another six million people across the country faced extreme food insecurity.
