U.S. Government

The United States remains deeply concerned by the fragile situation in South Sudan.  We continue to urge President Salva Kiir and former Vice President Riek Machar to take immediate steps to end the current conflict, and we welcome their agreement to send representatives to Addis Ababa for talks mediated by the Intergovernmental Authority on Development in the coming days.

Together, we have strengthened military capacity through the construction and commissioning of Ghana’s first National Marine Police Training Academy. In fact, we continue to work with many branches of the law enforcement sector and have completed 23 training courses in the West Africa Regional Training Center that was established this year. There’s no doubt that partnership breeds success, and we’ve seen a number of successes partnering to counter drug trafficking and secure Ghana’s maritime interests. We congratulate the Ghana Navy for its recent designation as Best Performing Navy in West Africa for 2013 by the Security Watch Africa Magazine. - See more at: http://blogs.state.gov/stories/2013/12/30/highlighting-us-ghana-partnership#sthash.XK2jDKWY.HzfA3Qtn.dpuf

We are deeply concerned by the Ugandan Parliament’s passage of anti-homosexuality legislation. As Americans, we believe that people everywhere deserve to live in freedom and equality – and that no one should face violence or discrimination for who they are or whom they love. We join those in Uganda and around the world who appeal for respect for the human rights of LGBT persons and of all persons.

The United States will join other members of the U.N. Security Council in supporting an increased deployment of troops to South Sudan in response to “deeply disturbing” reports from the region, according to U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations Samantha Power.