A face-to-face meeting between President Salva Kiir and rebel leader Riek Machar is likely to take place before the 31st summit of the African Union assembly on 1 and 2 July in Mauritania.
In a communiqué issued following its Extra-Ordinary Summit in Addis Ababa today, the IGAD Council of Ministers recommended the chairperson of the IGAD Assembly of Heads of State and Government to consult with members of the Assembly on the convening of an Extra-Ordinary Summit of the Assembly and a face-to-face meeting between Kiir and Machar before the 31st Summit of the Assembly of the African Union to be held on 1 and 2 July 2018 in Noukakchott, Mauritania.
The IGAD council of ministers decided today to make a final decision on the effective participation of South Sudan’s exiled opposition leader Riek Machar on the peace process.
The IGAD foreign ministers directed the IGAD mediation team to develop a full revitalized text of the 2015 peace agreement which should be endorsed by the IGAD Council of Ministers and submitted to the Summit for final approval.
The council also decided to submit punitive measures against violators of the ceasefire deal for the approval of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government.
It further decided to submit its request to the IGAD Assembly to delegate the Council to decide on actions to be taken against violators of the ceasefire deal on the assembly’s behalf.
“Requests CTSAMM and JMEC to continue monitoring with vigilance the implementation of the CoHA and the ARCSS,” partly reads the communiqué.
The Council said it will work closely with the IGAD Plus to realize the objectives of the HLRF process.