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South Sudan

RJMEC Quarterly Report on the status of implementation of the R-ARCSS from 1st October to 31st December 2024

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Executive Summary

This report covers the status of implementation of the Revitalised Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in the Republic of South Sudan (R-ARCSS) during the period 1 st October – 31st December 2024 and builds on similar previous Reports Nos. 001/19 - 024/24 prepared since the signing of the peace agreement on 12th September 2018. In addition to the status update on implementation, it highlights the activities of the Reconstituted Joint Monitoring and Evaluation Commission (RJMEC) in the fulfilment of its oversight, monitoring and evaluation mandate within the R-ARCSS and concludes with providing key recommendations.

Following the agreement of the Parties in September 2024 to extend the Transitional Period by a further two years and postpone elections to December 2026, not much progress was reported in this quarter with the work of the National Constitutional Review Commission (NCRC), Political Parties Council (PPC) and the National Elections Commission (NEC). These key elections-related bodies continue to suffer from a lack of adequate funding and as such, have made slow progress in moving the critical work of preparing the permanent constitution and moving the election process forward.

The Presidency agreed to return the controversially enacted National Security Services (NSS) Amendment Bill back to Cabinet to be re-tabled before the Transitional National Legislative Assembly (TNLA) with expectations that the controversial provisions, Sections 54 and 55 of the Act, will be addressed. The President assented to the Public Finance Management and Accountability Act 2024, which paves way for prudent and transparent management of the public finances and promotes accountability. However, the two Petroleum-related laws and the Non-Governmental Authority (NGO) Act 2016 (Amendment) Bill are still pending. In terms of the judicial reforms process, the ad hoc Judicial Reforms Committee (JRC) successfully completed its work having finalised and validated its final report and recommendations on appropriate judicial reforms.

During the period of reporting, the Permanent Ceasefire generally continued to hold but was violated by the shooting incident between Government forces that occurred in Juba on 21 November 2024 at the house of the former Director General of the National Security Service, General Akol Koor Kuc. Also, on 21 December 2024, there were reports of forced entry into some diplomatic compounds in Juba by some elements of government forces. On the Transitional Security Arrangements (TSAs), specifically the completion of the deployment of Phase I and the commencement of Phase II training of the Necessary Unified Forces (NUF), there has been very little progress since the deployment of a total of eight military battalions by April 2024, and there has been no further progress on the commissioning of the second command echelon officers from the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement /Army-In Opposition (SPLM/A-IO) and South Sudan Opposition Alliance (SSOA).

During the quarter under review, the majority of people in South Sudan continued to face critical humanitarian conditions due to the persistent crisis resulting from a combination of sporadic armed clashes and intercommunal violence, food insecurity, public health challenges and climatic shocks which severely affected livelihoods and hampered access to water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH), education and health services. The situation was worsened by the economic crisis, the conflict in neighbouring Sudan and widespread flooding and protection concerns remained high, especially for women and girls.

The Draft South Sudan National Land Policy 2023 was tabled at the TNLA. This Land Policy is a long-term framework for assigning and protecting collective and individual land rights for all South Sudanese. It has been developed through considerable public input and research to identify key land issues and challenges and methods for tackling them. Policymakers, traditional and religious authorities, national and international players, and communities from around South Sudan have all actively participated in the process.

On 11 November 2024, H.E. President Salva Kiir Mayardit signed into law two critical legislations, namely the Commission for Truth Reconciliation and Healing Act and the Compensation and Reparation Authority Act. The operationalization of the Acts is the critical next step which involves the appointment of seven commissioners to the CTRH, four South Sudanese and three non-South Sudanese.

The RJMEC leadership held discussions with H.E. Salva Kiir Mayardit, President of South Sudan and other members of the Presidency on the status of implementation of the R-ARCSS and specific actions being undertaken by the RTGoNU to further the prospects for lasting peace in South Sudan. They all reiterated their commitment to the full implementation of the RARCSS and pledged that there would be no further extensions of the Transitional Period. The leadership also met and held discussions with Dr. Workneh Gebeyehu, IGAD Executive Secretary and made several recommendations on how IGAD as guarantor to the Revitalized Peace Agreement can better assist the process going forward including for the IGAD Council of Ministers to undertake a joint Ministerial visit to South Sudan to review the current status of the R-ARCSS, or to arrange bilateral visits.

There are only two years left to the holding of elections and a much shorter time period in which to complete the critical pending tasks required to pave the way for its successful conclusion. Such tasks include the unification of forces, Permanent Constitution making, and implementing the election processes such as voter registration. In addition, urgent, predictable and sufficient funding is required to enable institutions such as the NCRC and NEC to carry out their mandates uninterrupted. It is only with requisite political will and the availability of funding that these outstanding tasks can be satisfactorily tackled.

The recommendations that follow, if acted upon, including to the Parties to the Agreement, RTGoNU, TNL, IGAD, the African Union, and the International Partners, are geared towards encouraging a faster pace of implementation of the R-ARCSS and will better prepare the country for elections.