Civil society body urges S. Sudan parties to unveil peace roadmap
November 3, 2019 (JUBA) – The signatories to the Revitalized Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in South Sudan (R-ARCSS) should develop a “realistic” 100-day road map for the formation of a Revitalized Transitional Government of National Unity (R-TGoNU), a civil society group said.
South Sudan Civil Society Forum also urged the parties to agree on how they plan to resolve outstanding issues like the security arrangements and develop a position on the numbers of states and boundaries.
“The 100-day roadmap should provide details about how they plan to implement the essential tasks leading up to the formation of the new unity government,” partly reads the statement.
South Sudan descended into war in December 2013 when President Salva Kiir accused his former deputy Riek Machar of plotting a coup, allegations he denied.
In September last year, the country’s rival factions signed a revitalized peace agreement to end the civil war that killed tens of thousands of people and displaced millions.
“Guarantors of the R-ARCSS, particularly those in the region, should deliver shift consequences on any party that deliberately attempts to frustrate peace efforts and meaningful implementation of the R-ARCSS,” notes the civil society’s statement.
Meanwhile, the chairman of the ceasefire monitoring body (CTSAMVM) urged South Sudan’s peace partners to compromise and agree on concrete measures to implement key pending matters as the formation of the transitional cabinet is approaching.
Speaking at the meeting of the CTSAMVM Board on Friday, Maj. Gen. Desta Abiche Ageno said that progress “has been slow” in the implementation of the security arrangements as they have less than two weeks before the end the Extended Pre-transitional period.
Ageno said the parties need to do work hard to complete the outstanding security arrangements and to ensure that remaining processes are expedited to catch up with lost time.
“During this critical time, what is needed is for Parties to accommodate one another, make compromises and agree on concrete measures to implement the key pending tasks of the Pre- transitional Period,” he stressed.
President Kiir has admitted the delay in the implementation of the revitalized peace agreement, but insists the national unity government be formed as planned.
The revitalized peace accord stipulates that there shall be a transitional government formed in South Sudan after eight months of a pre-transitional period, for 36 months.
(ST)