Francis Mading Deng, the deputy rapporteur of the national dialogue committee said that the implementation process of recommendations of the national dialogue was likely to be challenging.
Deng, in a brief released on Tuesday, said that it is not as yet clear what mechanism will be charged with the responsibility of implementation.
“If the momentum and integrity which the process has so far demonstrated are maintained through the regional and grassroots consultations, and continue on to the National Conference that will formulate the final recommendations, then the only remaining challenge will be one of implementation,” partly reads Deng’s brief.
“Failure to live up to this challenge is bound to have serious consequences for the authority responsible for implementation. It is one to be wisely avoided,” the brief added.
The former South Sudanese envoy to the United Nations emphasized the need for moral pressure, both domestic and international to ensure a credible, recognized, and respected implementation of the recommendations.
“Wherever the responsibility will ultimately lie, if the process maintains its integrity up to that point, then the weight of the moral pressure, both domestically and internationally, to ensure a credible, recognized, and respected implementation of the recommendations will be difficult to resist”, he said.
Deng pointed out that their visits to key stakeholders in June was to engage as many South Sudanese as possible, inside the country and abroad, in a determined effort to end the violence.
He further said the longer-term objective was not only to end the war, but also to promote a culture of peaceful engagement through dialogue to address the structural sources of conflict at all levels and to institutionalize the process of restoring sustainable peace, security, stability, and development in a beleaguered country.
“If the national dialogue process continues in the way it has so far been conducted, observing the principles of inclusivity, credibility, and transparency which have been widely advocated as crucial to the success of any national dialogue, then the prospects of success are quite promising,” he said.