The United States, United Kingdom and Norway have reaffirmed their call for South Sudan’s leaders to urgently take steps necessary to ensure genuine and peaceful elections in December. 

The three countries released a joint statement Tuesday saying South Sudan’s government must act “urgently” to create an environment conducive to planned elections in December.

“Our relationship with South Sudan remains based on our conviction that the South Sudanese people deserve peace, human rights, democracy, and a government that is responsive to the needs of its citizens,” the joint statement says. “We look to South Sudan’s leaders to demonstrate that they share these values by honoring their own commitments to their people.”

The countries said the statement comes after “recent senior-level visits” to Juba, South Sudan’s capital. They urged leaders to follow a mechanism crafted by the United Nations, African Union and Intergovernmental Authority on Development.

“Not taking these critical steps and so not allowing elections would be a collective failure on the part of South Sudan’s leaders,” the statement says. “We further urge the transitional government to use public revenue in a transparent manner to address public needs, including funding and operationalization of electoral institutions.”

The United States provided more than $9.2 billion in foreign assistance to South Sudan between fiscal 2011 and fiscal 2022, the most recent year with full-year data. Of that money, $131.1 million was earmarked to build out civil society, $129.4 million for conflict mitigation and $58.3 million to support good governance.

A revitalized peace agreement was reached in September 2018, but the country has never held elections as government officials have postponed them multiple times. Elections are scheduled for December 2024, but the United States, United Kingdom and Norway say the government hasn’t built up the structure necessary to hold free and fair elections.

Over the past few weeks, the State Department has imposed visa restrictions related to South Sudan’s political instability and repression of activists and dissidents.