South Sudan JMEC facilitates meeting for SSOA groups over JDB composition
November 9, 2018 (JUBA) – South Sudan peace monitoring body (JMEC) facilitated a meeting for the South Sudan Opposition Alliance (SSOA) of Gabriel Changson to discuss the membership and composition of the Joint Defence Board (JDB).
In a statement released on Friday, JMEC said it convened on Thursday a meeting for the SSOA leadership members attended by officials from the Office of the IGAD Special Envoy for South Sudan after a disagreement within the National Pre-Transitional Committee (NPTC) on the correct interpretation of Article 2.4.2 of the R-ACRSS 2018 on nominations to the JDB.
The article 2.4.2 provides that the JDB is formed at the level of Chiefs of Staff (or the leaders of the armed groups) and Directors General of National Security Service, Police, and all other organized forces to exercise command and control over all forces during the Pre-Transitional Period.
At the end of the meeting which was chaired by the JMEC Acting Chairperson Augostino S.K. Njoroge, the SSOA Chair “Gabriel Changson Chang and his fellow members of the Alliance reached a common understanding,” said the statement without elaborating.
The statement added that as result of the reached understanding, the SSOA’s membership nominees to the JDB will be submitted to JMEC, stressing that “all outstanding issues surrounding the matter have been cleared up”.
Commenting on the compromise reached by the SSOA factions, Njoroge hailed the deal saying “SSOA showed their unwavering support for the agreement, and were prepared to be flexible to abide by our impartial interpretation of provisions of the revitalized agreement”.
He stressed the JMEC readiness to fulfil their role of facilitating wherever they can, to ensure that the peace implementation continues without delay.
(ST)