Troika welcomes S. Sudan’s commitment to peace implementation
August 9, 2022 (JUBA) – The Troika and European Union (EU) member states have welcomed South Sudan’s leaders’ commitment to the full implementation of the September 2018 revitalised peace agreement.
Last week, five South Sudanese political parties to the September 2018 peace deal signed a roadmap extending the current transitional period for two additional years, citing failure to complete critical benchmarks as agreed.
“We welcome President [Salva] Kiir and First Vice President [Riek] Machar’s reiteration of their commitment to peace. We remain convinced that the only path to peace, prosperity, and democracy for all South Sudanese lies in action by the country’s leaders to fulfil their promises and include all South Sudanese in a shared vision of their nation’s future,” partly reads the Troika and EU’s joint statement extended to Sudan Tribune on Tuesday.
It added: “We note that the roadmap includes details of the actions that will be taken and the timeframes for delivery. We share our expectation that this agreement will now translate into the sustained action required to deliver the roadmap. We note with concern that the necessity for an extension to the peace process is the result of choices made by the government not to take the necessary steps that would have led to implementation.
The EU and Troika are calling for sustained action and results, particularly on oil revenue transparency, as well as public finances and resources management.
This, they said, would generate donor support for South Sudan government.
They cited the announcement by government to allocate specific funds in the 2022-23 budget for implementing the peace agreement and the roadmap.
“We urge the government to disburse those funds in predictable and transparent ways in order for the international community to regain confidence”, further stressed the statement.
Meanwhile the Troika and EU member states expressed regret that the process of finalising the roadmap was not inclusive, saying civil society groups were not allocated enough time to review and comment on government’s proposal.
“We regard the inclusivity of any process as key to its legitimacy and urge the Government to consult in more detail before the process of ratifying the extension set out in article 8.4 of R-ARCSS is completed,” the statement noted.
If further called on government to expand political and civic space to ensure that the voices of the South Sudanese people, including those who hold opposing views, are consistently heard throughout the implementation of the roadmap.
(ST)