Sept 13th, 2018(Nyamilepedia) — Speaking at the signing ceremony of the Revitalized Agreement of the Resolution of the Conflict in South Sudan(R-ARCSS) in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Head of the United Nations Mission in South Sudan, David Shearer, said the signing of the peace deal is a significant step forward in the process of ending the ongoing violence and the immense suffering of their people.
“The signing of a revitalized peace agreement by all parties to the conflict in South Sudan is a significant step forward in the process of ending the ongoing violence and the immense suffering of their people” says the United Nations Mission in South Sudan.” Shearer said.
Shearer acknowledges that signing the deal is not a mean to an end by itself but just one single step that lays an important foundation.
“While this is a single step on the road to enduring peace, it is the one that lays the foundations for all that must follow,” said David Shearer.
“For those of us who see first-hand the bitter fighting on the ground and meet those who suffer most, we would not have believed three months ago that we would be at this point. But we also know that the greatest challenges are yet to come during the implementation phase.” He continued.
With strings attached, the UN Representative hints that the United Nations and the wider International Community will play their roles to ensure that a genuine reconciliations and peace building process is achieved, however, not until the warring parties and their leaders demonstrate political will to implement what they have signed.
“The United Nations and the international community will be expected to play their role in assisting with genuine reconciliation and peace building activities. However, we need to be persuaded by the demonstration of collective political will of the parties to implement an agreed and realistic implementation plan,” Shearer hints.
Shearer believes that the key ingredient needed to achieve peace in South Sudan is still missing and for such he urges South Sudanese, friends and sympathizers to encourage trust between the parties.
“The key ingredient still lacking is trust. Those signing the agreement are former friends and foes. From my discussions with the parties, suspicion is widespread. It is beholden on all of us to encourage trust between parties.” Shearer said.
To Shearer peace in South Sudan means everything to the people and development of their country.
The UN Representative believes that a genuine commitment to peace and concrete actions could once again restore a lasting peace that would enable South Sudanese to move out of UN protection sites and refugees camps to their actual homes adding that a genuine peace could hep the war-torn country to restore its economy and development.
“A genuine commitment to peace and concrete actions to implement the agreement will encourage the people of South Sudan to move back to their homes to lead lives that are safe and self-reliant. And, enable the country to transition from its current dire economic state to an environment that attracts investment and development”. He added.
