By Gladys Fred Kole
Reconstituted Joint Monitoring and Evaluation Commission (RJMEC) disclosed to the UN Security Council that pending challenges have slowed down the implementation of the revitalized peace agreement.
RJMEC interim chairperson, H.E. Amb Charles Tai Gituai, briefed the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) on South Sudan on June 20, 2023.
In his report to the UNSC, Gituai stated that challenges including a trust deficit among the parties, a lack of adequate resources, capacity gaps, persistent levels of inter-communal violence in the states, negative activities of the holdout groups, and natural calamities like floods, derail the peace process.
He said there is a need for collective efforts to focus on South Sudan at this critical time and ensure that the Agreement is implemented in letter and spirit, especially with the prospects of elections looming only 18 months away.
But Gituai said, “Without predictable and adequate funding, our assessment is that South Sudan will continue to struggle to adhere to the implementation schedule of the R-ARCSS.”
“The international community can support South Sudanese efforts, especially by directly funding the constitution-making process, Disarmament, Demobilization, and Reintegration (DDR), as well as the preparation and conduct of elections,” he emphasized.
The RJMEC interim chair, however, maintained that the peace mechanism continues to monitor, evaluate, and oversee the mandate and tasks of the RTGoNU, including the parties’ adherence to the agreed timelines and implementation schedule in accordance with Chapter 7 of the Revitalized Peace Agreement.
Gituai added that RJMEC also continues to oversee the work of all other peace Mechanisms, break deadlocks among the parties, and regularly engage with the parties to the Agreement, key peace partners, and other South Sudanese stakeholders in a bid to build consensus and expedite progress.
“In that regard, I would like to appeal to this Council to remain seized of the peace process in South Sudan, engage the RTGoNU to expedite implementation of the Peace Agreement, and conduct elections as scheduled,” he urged.
Amb. Gituai further asked the Security Council to consider visiting Juba at this critical time of election preparations and to stand in solidarity with the people of South Sudan.