AU urges S. Sudan warring parties to fully implement peace agreement

August 25, 2015 (ADDIS ABABA) – The African Union (AU) has urged the parties to the conflict in South Sudan to end the war through a political peace agreement and implement the IGAD Plus peace agreement fully to the letter, saying AU, together with the East African regional bloc, IGAD, and the United Nations (UN) will ensure the peace deal is fully implemented once signed by all the warring parties.

This came in a strong worded statement issued by the AU Peace and Security Council at its 537th meeting held on 24 August 2015, which had exchange of views on the evolution of the peace process in South Sudan in the event that president Kiir seals the deal on Wednesday in Juba.

The statement commended the armed opposition leader, Riek Machar, for signing the peace agreement on time and further urged president Salva Kiir to follow suit on 26 August in Juba to end the war and start the full implementation of the deal.

“Council welcomed the signing of the Agreement by Dr. Riek Machar, leader of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement In Opposition (SPLM/IO), as well as by Mr. Pagan Amum, on behalf of the Former Political Detainees, and by other South Sudanese stakeholders, during the IGAD Plus Summit that took place in Addis Ababa on 17 August 2015,” partly reads the statement by AU.

It also said it noted the initialing of the pages of the peace agreement document by president Kiir in Addis Ababa on 17 August, urging him to add his full signature to the document.

“In this respect, Council welcomed the commitment of President Salva Kiir Mayardit to sign the Agreement, following consultations in South Sudan, and looked forward to the signing of the Agreement, on 26 August 2015 in Juba, as announced by IGAD on 24 August 2015,” it said.

Representative of the other political parties in South Sudan, Lam Akol, will also be expected to sign the agreement in Juba as he was prevented by the government from travelling to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, for the 17 August signing.

The AU’s Peace and Security Council called upon all the South Sudanese stakeholders to demonstrate the required sense of responsibility and commit to genuine reconciliation, put the interests of South Sudan and its people above “narrow interests” and fully support the agreement and its implementation.

It said AU together with other regional and international partners will continue to put pressure on the parties to fully implement the peace agreement, warning to hold responsible those who will be undermining its implementation.

“Council, recalling its earlier pronouncements, warned that all those undermining the lasting resolution of the conflict, including the implementation of the Agreement, would be held accountable for their actions,” it said.

The statement further explained that the AU will continue to assist the South Sudanese stakeholders to achieve lasting peace in their country, including through the AU High Representative for South Sudan and the High-Level ad hoc Committee.

“In this respect, Council requested the Commission, working closely with IGAD and the UN, to submit to it, as early as possible, concrete proposals on how best the AU could contribute to the implementation process of the Agreement, once the signing process is completed, in line with the relevant provisions of the said Agreement,” stressed the statement.

UN DISCUSSES SANCTIONS ON JUBA

The United Nations on Tuesday began to discuss a wide range of targeted sanctions to be imposed on South Sudanese government should president Kiir refuse to sign the peace agreement by weekend.

The sanctions would include arms embargo on president Kiir’s government, non-access to neighbouring sea ports, travel bans, global assets freezes, including recovery of stolen money from the bank accounts of South Sudanese officials worldwide, etc. The frontline states of Uganda, Kenya, Ethiopia and Sudan will be tasked by a resolution of the UN Security Council to fully implement the sanctions imposed on Juba.

United States urged the UN security council on Tuesday to make ready the sanctions and continue to keep them on the table, warning that the sanctions regime will remain in place even if president Kiir signs the deal, adding that the sanctions will still be imposed on any party that will refuse to fully implement the IGAD Plus peace agreement during the 30 months of transitional period before elections are held.

US national security advisor, Susan Rice, said the same pressure which forced the South Sudanese warring parties to sign the peace agreement will equally be applied to make them implement it fully.

(ST)