The Reconstituted Joint Monitoring and Evaluation Commission (RJMEC) while marking the 4th anniversary of the 2018 peace agreement, urged the parties to redouble efforts to implement the recently signed roadmap while building trust and enforcing political freedoms.
Last month, the parties to the Revitalised Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in the Republic of South Sudan (R-ARCSS) signed a roadmap that extends the current transitional period by 24 months.
In a press statement on Sunday, RJMEC said: “Therefore, as we mark the four years since the Agreement’s signing, RJMEC urges the RTGoNU to redouble its efforts and implement the Roadmap fully in letter and spirit. As it does so, we urge it to bear in mind that more confidence and trust building across society is needed, and that improved inclusivity and extending and protection of the political and civic space for all South Sudanese to participate in their governance is also needed.”
RJMEC noted that the parties must work to ensure that the process of peacebuilding is continuous saying, ‘instability in the states detracts from gains made in peacebuilding’.
The peace monitors also lauded the parties for the graduation of the first batch of unified forces and the extension of the transitional period by two years.
“The unification of forces is the backbone of the Agreement, and one of the key building blocks promoting national unity, reconciliation, and community cohesion. The momentum generated should be maintained and Phase II of unification should commence as quickly as possible.” the statement reads in part.
RJMEC said the extension of the transitional period which is part of the Roadmap was also notable.
“The Roadmap makes it clear that much remains to be implemented across all chapters of the Peace Agreement, and we cannot ignore the fact that the need for this Roadmap arose directly because of the slow pace of implementation of the Revitalised Peace Agreement,” it emphasized.
The R-ARCSS was signed on September 12, 2018 following the 2016 civil war that erupted in South Sudan barely a year of the signing of the 2015 Peace Agreement, and barely two months after the first coalition government was formed.