The Peace and Security Council (PSC) of the African Union (AU), at its 1326th meeting held on 23 January 2026, on Updated Briefing on the Situation in the Republic of South Sudan expressed deep concern over the slow implementation of the R-ARCSS and reported cases of ceasefire violations, including widespread aerial bombardments and clashes among signatories to the 2018 Revitalized Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in the Republic of South Sudan (R-ARCSS); and called for the immediate and unconditional cessation of all hostilities.
A communique seen by this publication demanded the belligerents guarantee unfettered humanitarian access to the affected population, and appealed to all humanitarian agencies to sustain their efforts in addressing the situation.
“The PSC further expresses deep concern over the reported cases of violations of human rights and international humanitarian law, including sexual violence, arbitrary detentions, and extra-judicial killings, and strongly warns the perpetrators of these atrocities that they will be held accountable for their heinous acts,” the communique reads in part. “Emphasizes that there can be no viable military solution to the challenges facing the country and that the R-ARCSS remains the only overarching and viable framework for promoting sustainable peace, stability, and development in South Sudan.”
The PSC strongly urged South Sudan’s political leaders to recommit to dialogue and consensus-building to prevent a total collapse of the peace process. It called on the transitional government to reconstitute itself as per the provisions of the R-ARCSS and to expedite the implementation of outstanding transitional tasks in the letter and spirit of the R-ARCSS, and to adhere strictly to its provisions, including upholding the supremacy of the Agreement.
The communique also emphasized that priority should be given to the organization of elections by December 2026 to meet the aspirations of the South Sudanese people in ending the transitional period by February 2027 and called on all parties to engage in this electoral process.
“The PSC emphasizes the need to provide concrete support to South Sudanese institutions engaged in constitution-making, conducting of the census, and electoral processes, including the National Elections Commission (NEC), to ensure the successful conduct of elections in the country,” the communique reads.
The PSC emphasized the urgent need for the RTGoNU, with the support of the AU Commission, to expedite the establishment of the Hybrid Court for South Sudan to investigate, and if necessary, to prosecute all those found to be responsible for any crimes committed during the transitional period.”
The Council underlined the need for sustained and harmonized engagements by IGAD, AU, and UN with the RTGoNU to keep the fragile peace process alive by ensuring an amicable resolution of the current political and security impasse, including the release of the First Vice President and all other political detainees to facilitate meaningful dialogue and a return to the implementation of the R-ARCSS.
Meanwhile, Edmund Yakani, Executive Director of Community Empowerment for Progress (CEPO), welcomed the position of the African Union Peace and Security Council, saying the council’s decisions are impressive and its demanding the renewal of political pledge for genuine implementation of the tasks of R-ARCSS is positive.
“It is great that AUPSC stressed the use of dialogue for resolving political misunderstandings more than the use of a military approach. There is a need for AUPSC to adopt an aggressive approach to handling spoilers of peace and stability,” he said. “The best approach will be imposition of a continental travel ban for peace and stability spoilers from the political parties.”