By Taban Henry
The Troika countries (United States, United Kingdom, and Norway) who were part of a voting by membership of the Reconstituted Joint Monitoring and Evaluation Commission (R-JMEC) to adopt the extended peace roadmap on Thursday, boycotted the voting to extend the transitional period.
In the statement extended to the media, Troika, EU representatives and other member states walked away rejecting the process for the extension of the transitional period.
According to them, the vote in the Reconstituted Joint Monitoring and Evaluation Commission (RJMEC) to extend the transitional period signifies that South Sudan leaders again extended their time in power despite failing over the past four years to deliver fully on the commitment they made in the 2018 Revitalized Agreement on the Resolution of Conflict in the Republic of South Sudan (R-ARCSS).
“We regret that the government did not postpone ratification of the extension to give time for them to demonstrate-through the actions and the results on the ground that the new commitment as set out in the roadmap will be different from the last few years. We regret also that the government did not take the opportunity of meaningful engagement with the civil society and the other agreement stakeholders, which we believe increases the chances of successful implementation,” the Troika stated in a Statement.
The statement added that for these processes, Troika who are the voting members of R-JMEC, could not support the extension at this time.
“We require further evidence of the government commitment to deliver on the new roadmap and fully implement the R-ARCSS before we can do so unless they recognize that the R-ARCSS as an agreement continues to represent an opportunity to build peace and stability in South Sudan,” they stressed.
The Troika further stressed that their lack of support for the proposed extension in Thursday’s extraordinary meeting does not diminish their commitment to the South Sudanese people’s quest for peace, prosperity and democracy.
“We call on South Sudan’s leaders to shoulder their responsibility. To date, the R-ARCSS has prevented a return to the large-scale conflict, but it has not delivered democracy, peace, justice or opportunity for the South Sudanese people,” it underscored.
“They are paying the price of non-implementation through the extreme levels of violence and abuse vested upon civilians across the country,” it added.
The statement further added that Troika is in close coordination with the EU and its member States, regional partners, and other stakeholders, remain convinced that the push to ending their suffering and achieving their goals through the full implementation of the R-ARCSS.
“We support the government’s commitment to the roadmap to make the best use of the reminder of the original timeframe for the agreement and clarify how it would use any additional time from an extension”.
“South Sudan’s leaders must now deliver the results they promised in the timeline they committed to through the roadmap. They must also dedicate sufficient resources to the agreement’s implementation. This would send an important and positive signal to non-signatories, which we once again call upon to engage constructively in the peace process,” they further noted.
The Troika countries urged South Sudan’s friends and partners to strengthen their monitoring of progress stating that each missed benchmark will further call into question the political commitment of South Sudan’s leaders.