Parties to the 2018 Revitalized Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in South Sudan (R-ARCSS) say peace monitors and guarantors have done very little, if anything, to support the implementation of the deal.
The implementation of the agreement has been slow and major aspects lag. These include the reconstitution of the council of states and states' legislative assemblies, the implementation of the security arrangements which includes the graduation of unified forces, the establishment of justice mechanisms, the permanent constitution-making process among others.
Maj. Gen. Charles Tai Gituai, the Interim Chairperson of the Reconstituted Joint Monitoring and Evaluation Commission (RJMEC) said last week: “No graduation and redeployment for Phase One of the Necessary Unified Forces have taken place. Cantonment sites and training centers continue to be abandoned due to a chronic lack of food, medicines, shelter facilities, and hygiene items for women.”
Peace monitors, observers, and guarantors have decried the slow pace of implementation, saying there is a lack of political will from parties to the deal.
The government and parties on the other hand blame the monitors and guarantors for failing to fund the process and hold violators accountable.
Transitional Government of National Unity
Presidential spokesperson Ateny Wek Ateny told Radio Tamazuj that the delay in implementation should be apportioned to the peace monitors and other parties to the agreement in equal measure.
He said President Salva Kiir Mayardit is not an obstacle to the peace agreement and that he is working hard to ensure its fulfillment.
"We blame the international community for this delay because they want us to progress and yet they are not supporting us. They want us to move forward but our legs are tied down. The security arrangement represents approximately 40 percent of the agreement and up to this moment, we have not implemented even 1 percent of it," Ateny said.
He further echoed earlier sentiments by the information minister Michael Makuei that the United Nations arms embargo on South Sudan continues to delay the graduation of unified forces.
"This is due to the arms embargo on the country. We cannot graduate forces without guns yet we expect them to offer protection to our citizens. So, the international community should be blamed for this delay," he added.
Ateny further alleged that some parties to the agreement delayed submitting the lists of nominees for the reconstitution of the governance structures.
President Kiir while addressing the opening session of the permanent constitution-making process in Juba on Wednesday, said the agreement is complex and has been difficult to implement
He said, "The delay in implementing the terms of the agreement is seen by the peace partners as the absence of a political will on our part. But let me say this, even those who drafted this agreement are not serious in implementing it, and if they are given this agreement, I believe that it would be difficult for them to implement."
However, he reiterated that the unity government is committed to the peace agreement and assured that the country will not suffer a civil war again.
Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-In-Opposition (SPLM-IO)
A senior member of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-In-Opposition (SPLM-IO), Advocate Agok Makur admitted that the implementation of the peace deal has not been easy especially due to a lack of funds.
"Some parts need funding, for example, training of forces and feeding. This needs money. Some parts don't need funds. The formation of the government doesn’t need funds; it needs only political will among the parties."
The opposition official said the peace monitors could come in handy in rallying funds.
"Monitors have two roles to play during this period; to monitor the implementation process and to lobby for financial resources for this process. But they are so weak," he said. "Peace monitors, in this regard IGAD is supposed to encourage the international community to financially support the implementation of this agreement and invite them to monitor the process more closely."
Makur further blamed all parties for the delay in the reconstitution of the governance structures saying some parties submitted their list of nominees in time, others delayed, and the main party for delaying to make the appointments.
National Alliance of Political Parties
Kornelio Kon, the leader of the National Alliance of Political Parties and member of the Other Political Parties (OPP), also a signatory to the agreement, expressed pessimism saying South Sudanese leaders have failed and only God can save South Sudan.
He alleged that peace guarantors and monitors in the country are only focused on their interests and not for the interests of the people of South Sudan.
"I would say the guarantors and monitors are not here to monitor the peace deal but to monitor the resources of South Sudan. They are monitoring their own interest. Because their role has been negative. All the violations keep on happening but we have not heard from a single guarantor," he decried.
Kon adds, "I am saying so because none of them is telling our leaders that we are going wrong. But if they come and start looting your property, what will you call that? They are not empowered to punish the parties to the agreement. There is a lot that has happened and no one is being held accountable for their deeds."
Kon says the monitors and guarantors should find mechanisms to punish peace violators and earnestly called on South Sudanese leaders to put the interest of South Sudanese before theirs.
"Before the international community comes and decides for us, we are supposed to decide for ourselves. We lack the basic qualities to run this country. We lack interest, accountability, and there is no patriotism in anyone. Seriously, we are going nowhere. Let us just continue going on this way until God comes to save us," he regretted.
National Observer/Activist
Lona James Elias, a civil society activist, faulted parties to the deal saying they all lack a political will and prefer maintaining the status quo.
"All parties who signed the agreement have no political will at all. Some of them don’t want to implement this agreement because if they want, they would have shown by their actions. The majority of them do not want this agreement. They just want the situation to continue like this and the agreement to die. This is not good," she added.
Lona noted that the guarantors and monitors are toothless without enforcement mechanisms to pressure the parties to adhere to the implementation matrices.
"They need to have a punishment mechanism for the spoilers of peace agreements. But unfortunately, all of them are members of IGAD countries. They are all friends and they are playing a soft game and favoring our leaders because they might be thinking that if they treat our leaders badly tomorrow if something happens in their countries, they would also payback. They are putting their interest first before the interest of our people," she lamented.
As a remedy, she suggests, "They need to initiate a timeframe and if they want this agreement to be implemented, they also need to fund this process."
Regional Observer
For his part, a regional observer, Kenyan High Court Advocate, Professor Patrick Loch Otieno Lumumba, popularly known as PLO Lumumba speaking to Radio Tamazuj said that the responsibility to implement the agreement lies squarely with all the parties.
"It is easy from an armchair position to blame the guarantors but remember, even the peace guarantors are frustrated. They are frustrated because of their internal dynamics over which they have no control. So in my view, it is the players themselves that must remain faithful to the timetable. It is like a marriage. It is a husband and wife who must play their role," he said. "You can’t expect the bride's maids and the bride's broom’s partner to be the ones that are making them ensure that the marriage works. The key leaders in this particular process, and permit me to name them by name, President Kiir and doctor Riek Machar and the other players must what they must, to prioritize what is in the best interest of South Sudan."
According to the celebrated Pan-Africanist, South Sudan leaders must rise to the occasion knowing that the continent and the world are watching.
"And they must remember that everybody in Africa is praying for them and we wish them goodwill. They must remember on that day when they went to Rome and the Roman Catholic Pope knelt before them. It was a statement to them that peace is desired, that the world is looking at them, that people are becoming impenitent, that they must sacrifice personal interest for the general good," he advised.
Lack of transparency
In May 2019, the Transitional Government of National Unity pledged to contribute $100 million for the implementation of the agreement from its resources through the National Pre-Transitional Committee.
However, it remains unclear how much money was disbursed and how much was spent until now.
The lack of financial transparency, a growing humanitarian burden, coupled with donor fatigue have pushed the main donors, the United States, the United Kingdom, and the European Union to shy away from funding the deal.
Current Status
Recently, the government reconstituted the national legislative assembly. It also promised to reconstitute the council of states and state legislative assemblies soon. Appointments of the local governments in the three Administrative Areas of Abyei, Ruweng, and Greater Pibor also remain outstanding.
At the beginning of the month, the government announced that the first batch of unified forces will be graduated before May 31, 2021. However, a lack of preparation on the ground and the government's constant whining about the lack of arms, may either delay or inhibit the process altogether.
RJMEC in its 2021 January to March report on the status of implementation of the agreement also highlighted that not much has been accomplished in the implementation of tasks related to resource, economic and financial management. It also noted slight progress concerning Transitional Justice and the Permanent Constitution-making process envisaged under Chapter VI of the R-ARCSS.