IGAD invites South Sudanese parties for consultation meeting
August 19, 2019 (ADDIS ABABA) – The Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) has convened a one-day consultation meeting in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia for the peace parties in South Sudan to discuss the security arrangement and the number of states.
The regional bloc, in a statement extended to Sudan Tribune, said parties to the Revitalized Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in South Sudan will meet in Addis Ababa on Wednesday.
The meeting will take stock of the implementation of South Sudan’s peace agreement and make recommendations on way forward.
During the meeting, participants will also listen to reports from the National Pre-Transitional Committee, the Ceasefire and Transitional Security Arrangement, Monitoring and Verification Mechanism, and the Revitalized Joint Monitoring and Evaluation Commission (RJMEC).
The meeting, according to the regional bloc, also seeks to review progress so far made during the country’s pre-transitional period.
In May, the South Sudanese rival parties agreed on a six-month extension to implement next steps in the fragile peace agreement. The latest extension came after the main opposition group threatened to boycott formation of a unity government on May 12.
Last week, the body monitoring South Sudan’s ceasefire (CTSAMVM) expressed strong fears over the slow progress in the implementation of the security arrangements in the September 2018 peace accord.
The CTSAMVM is mandated by the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) to monitor and verify the implementation of the Agreement on the Cessation of Hostilities as per the peace deal.
South Sudan descended into civil war in late 2013 when President Salva Kiir accused his former deputy Riek Machar of attempting a coup.
(ST)