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NEW YORK - 17 Dec 2017

Guterres urges S Sudan parties to engage in good faith in peace forum

The United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has urged South Sudanese parties to engage in good faith in the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) -led High-Level Revitalization Forum set to begin in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, next week.

In a press statement in New York on Saturday, Stephane Dujarric, the Spokesman for the UN Secretary-General, Guterres is convinced that with full backing by the region and the wider international community, the forum will provide a unique opportunity to bring all the parties to the conflict and other stakeholders to the negotiation table.

Dujarric pointed out that the Secretary-General urged all South Sudanese to end the violence and peacefully resolve the crisis in the country.

“He further urges them to seize the opportunity of this meeting to secure a new cessation of hostilities, address the implementation of the 2015 Peace Agreement, and develop revised timelines to reach its key benchmarks,” party reads Dujarric’s statement.

The spokesman noted that the Secretary-General reiterated his deep appreciation for the work of the IGAD Special Envoy Ismail Wais, Joint Monitoring and Evaluation Commission (JMEC) Chair Former President Festus Mogae and the African Union High Representative former President Alpha Oumar Konaré, for preparing the ground for this inclusive Forum that carries the promise of moving South Sudan out of the current catastrophic humanitarian and human rights crisis by bringing an end to this protracted conflict.