February 27th 2019 (Nyamilepedia) – Members of the Troika (Norway, the United Kingdom, and the United States) urged the regional community to respect the South Sudan arms embargo imposed by the United Nations last year.
In July 2018, the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) imposed arms embargo against South Sudan to try to exempt it from accessing weapons that let it to continue the perpetuation of the ongoing civil war.
In a statement issued last week, the Troika said regional leadership is essential in ensuring that the arms embargo takes its effect as well as holding the violators of the peace agreement into account.
“Regional leadership will be essential to securing progress on this matter,” they said in a statewment seen by the Nyamilepedia
“We urge the region to respect the UN Arms Embargo and to hold those responsible for violations of the peace agreement and Cessation of Hostilities Agreement to account in line with the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) statement of 31 January that called for all parties to “cease hostilities and military preparations immediately,'” the troika statement added.
The statement further said that the “Reconstituted Joint Monitoring and Evaluation Commission (R-JMEC) has a central role in holding the parties to these agreements accountable to their commitments. We urge IGAD to appoint a credible and empowered R-JMEC Chair as a matter of urgency.”
The Troika further expressed disappointment over the ongoing fighting in Yei river state saying it undermine the peace agreeement signed in September last year by President Salva Kiir and opposition leader Dr. Riek Machar.
“This renewed violence risks undermining the peace agreement and lowers confidence of the Troika and other international partners in the parties’ seriousness and commitment to peace at a critical time of the pre-transitional period of the revitalized peace agreement,” it said.
“We are concerned that if the situation escalates, the progress made in implementing the peace agreement will be irrevocably set back. In addition, if violence against civilians continues unchecked, it could fuel further cycles of retribution and atrocities,” it added.