NAIROBI, Kenya, Dec 17 – South Sudan peace talks led by the Community of Saint’Egidio, a Catholic association of laypeople dedicated to social service, have agreed on the full inclusion of opposition groups in ceasefire monitoring by March 31.
The representatives of the Parties to the Rome Declaration 2020, The Revitalized Transitional Government of National Unity (RTGONU) and the South Sudanese Opposition Movement Alliance (SSOMA) parties Real SPLM and SSUF/A made the resolution following a four-day technical workshop in Nairobi.
“This is a crucial step for full compliance with the Cessation of Hostilities Agreement of 2017, to protect civilians, reduce violence, guarantee free access for humanitarian organizations and create a conducive environment for the continuation of the political dialogue between the parties,” read a joint communique following the completion of the forum on Friday.
The parties acknowledged that, in accordance to the Rome Resolution, the SSOMA representatives shall be represented in Ceasefire and Transitional Security Arrangements Monitoring and Verification Mechanism (CTSAMVM) and shall be entitled to all privileges and immunities accorded to CTSAMVM members in accordance with its Status of Mission Agreement (SOMA) of May 2014.
President Salva Kiir had suspended his government’s participation to the Rome initiative in August 2020 after the killing of two nuns along the Juba-Nimula Road following an ambush by armed men.
Tobias Mueller, an official from Saint’Egidio who read the joint communique, stated that there was need for compliance with the Cessation of Hostilities Agreement to protect civilians.
“It is very important for us to keep the momentum and to underline that there is no alternative to a political dialogue. The central part of political dialogue is to enforce the cessation of hostilities agreement that is a milestone of the peace process in South Sudan,” he said.
Muller added that the most important goal of Saint’Egidio is to “silence the guns and make sure they stay silent”.
The parties agreed that the monitoring and verification training of the representatives will be organized by CTSAMVM within two months starting from the end of the technical workshop jointly facilitated with the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) to pave way for deployment process. The Mediation shall supervise the implementation of the resolutions.
“This is a crucial step for full compliance with the Cessation of Hostilities Agreement of 2017, to protect civilians, reduce violence, guarantee free access for humanitarian organizations and create a conducive environment for the continuation of the political dialogue of the Rome initiative between the parties that will continue at the beginning of next year,” Muller said.
CTSAMVM Chairperson General Teshome Aderie commended Kiir’s government for the resumption of the peace talks.
“CTSAMVM is very ready to conduct training for the people who are going to join us from SSOMA and ready to work with them. When it comes to the commitment to be part of us, for us it means integration of SSOMA to CTSAMVM can simply smoothen the verification of our job on the ground so that we can conduct our mandate properly which can directly contribute to the peace process of South Sudan,” Aderie said.
They further agreed to disseminate the Cessation of Hostilities Agreement (COHA), sensitize and train all their forces or armed groups under their command and control to ensure full compliance, and undertake to hold their forces accountable for any violations.
Khalif Shabel, the IGAD representative at the workshop, said that the political dialogue is significant in the sense that it directly impacts public trust and confidence in South Sudan.
“In IGAD we have always maintained that the political crises in South Sudan can only be resolved through a mutually negotiated settlement between the parties, in this context the current workshop signifies the commitment of the parties to the pace process and this is the most welcome development,” Shabel said.
IGAD promised to supposed the South Sudan citizens in their quest for peace.
Mac Paul Awar, a representative of the government, stated that Kiir’s leadership is committed to peace calling on other parties to recommit themselves to the cessation of hostilities.
“I particularly call on other SSOMA to recommit themselves to the cessation of hostilities and come back to the negotiation table,” he said.
In 2013, a deadly internal conflict erupted in South Sudan two years after it got its independence prompting an intervention by regional players to broker peace.
The warring fighting parties then signed an Agreement on Resolution of Conflict in South Sudan (ARCSS) in July 2015. The ARCSS provided for a Ceasefire and Transitional Security Arrangement Monitoring Mechanism (CTSAMM), which IGAD established in 2016.
Another large-scale conflict re-emerged in 2016 and lasted until September 2018, when the parties signed the Revitalized Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in South Sudan (R-ARCSS).
In compliance with the R-ARCSS deal, the monitoring and verification mechanism has been reconstructed into CTSAMVM.
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