Juba, South Sudan,
June 08, 2021 – The mediation body of the Juba Peace Agreement has revealed that all outstanding issues between the Sudan Transitional Government and holdout party SPLM North of Abdel Aziz Adam al Hilu have been resolved.
Most of the outstanding issues in the talks between the Sudanese parties have been already agreed upon in the Declaration of Principles signed last March, said the South Sudanese mediation committee on Monday.
In a statement seen by Nyamilepedia, the spokesman of the mediating body Stephen Dhieu Mathok said the parties to the agreement have resolved outstanding issues and agreed on the declaration of the principles signed over the last three months.
Mathouk added that the mediation will not accept a retraction of the Declaration of Principles signed in March this year.
“Many of the outstanding issues are related to the relationship of religion and the state and self-determination. These issues have already been agreed upon in the Declaration of Principles signed between the two parties.
“As a mediation, we see that the current dispute over these issues is unhealthy, and we call on the parties to abide by the signed agreement,” he stressed.
Mathok emphasized that the differences are related to the judicial system and the Evaluation and Follow-up Commission. He added that joint committees have been formed to address them.
The Declaration of Principles aimed to create a secular state that protects religious freedoms and agrees on the impartiality of the state with regard to religious matters.
The SPLM-N al-Hilu demands to repeal all laws related to religion while the personal status for the Muslims is inspired by Islamic law.
The spokesman of the Sudanese government told reporters that there was “limited progress” in the outstanding issues, while the SPLM-N spokesman expressed hope that an agreement would be reached on Tuesday.
The Juba peace agreement was signed in October 2020 under the auspices of South Sudanese President Gen. Salva Kiir Mayardit and this comes a year later after the Sudanese government mediated the South Sudanese peace talks which culminated in the Revitalized Peace Agreement signed in 2018.
