November 23rd 2019 (Nyamilepedia) – The African Union (AU) Ad Hoc High Level Committee for South Sudan ( also known as C5), comprising of South Africa, Algeria, Chad, Nigeria and Rwanda, said in a statement on Wednesday that further extension for the pre-transitional period may derail the ongoing peace process.
Per a 2018 peace agreement, South Sudan government and opposition groups were required to form a unity government by May 2019. However, because pre-transitional tasks set forth by the agreement for the government formation were not in place, the parties decided to postpone the action for November 12th.
Early this month, President Salva Kiir and SPLM-IO leader Dr. Riek Machar – both of whom are main signatories to the agreement – decided to extend the pre-transitional period from November to February because key pre-transitional tasks were not resolved this time again.
In a statement issued on Wednesday from Addis Ababa, the C5 urged the parties to make sure that all the outstanding issues are resolved before the end of the latest extension saying the government formation would be an important step in bringing about permanent peace to the country saying any further delay may derail the peace process.
“C5 urges all the parties to the R-ARCSS to ensure that the outcomes of the IGAD Ministerial Meeting are fully implemented within the agreed 100 day extension,” the statement seen by Nyamilepedia partly read.
“The C5 underscores that the formation of an inclusive R-TGoNU remains a vital element of the South Sudan peace process and should be implemented as agreed, given that any further extensions could undermine the peace process,” the statement added.
The C5 statement further commended “the tireless efforts of the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD) Heads of State and Government and the AU Commission, as well as the Regional and International Special Envoys to South Sudan for supporting the parties to implement the Revitalized Agreement.”
“The C5 appreciates the critical role of the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS), the African Union Liaison Office to South Sudan (Auloss), the Ceasefire and Transitional Security Arrangements Monitoring and Verification Mechanism (CTSAMVM), and Reconstituted Joint Monitoring and Evaluation Commission (R-JMEC).”
