A group of women mediators in South Sudan has held talks with the main opposition party, the SPLM-IO, in a new effort to break a deadlock in the country’s fragile peace process.
The meeting in the capital, Juba, on Tuesday aimed to revive the 2018 peace agreement, which has been marred by disputes and violations, delaying the country’s transition to elections.
The SPLM-IO, loyal to suspended First Vice President Dr. Riek Machar, said the session was “very productive” and committed to a “South Sudanese-to-South Sudanese dialogue”.
The women’s mediation team, organized by the Community Empowerment for Progress Organization (CEPO) with support from UN Women, includes figures from diverse professional backgrounds.
Their initiative comes at a critical time. Dr. Machar is currently on trial for treason, and his party has made his release, along with other detained officials, a prerequisite for meaningful high-level talks.
‘We are in this process 100%’
Speaking after the meeting, a prominent SPLM-IO representative, Yolanda Awel Deng, expressed gratitude to the mediators and religious leaders.
“We are in this process 100%,” Deng, a former health minister, told reporters. “We are for a South Sudanese-to-South Sudanese dialogue… to make sure that our country is back in peace 100%.”
However, she outlined a key condition for the opposition: “We have a prerequisite… the unconditional release of His Excellency the first vice president, plus all the SPLM-IO leaders in detention.”
She stated that this step would lead to a high-level dialogue involving the president and other peace partners, ultimately paving the way to “transition our country out of the transitional period… to the election.”
Mediators’ goal
For the mediators, the meeting was the first in a series of planned consultations with the various signatories to the peace agreement.
Florence Agiba, a representative for the South Sudan Women Mediators, described the talks as a “great deliberation”.
“We’ve agreed to have a dialogue. We’re going to have more of these sessions throughout the week,” Agiba said.
She explained that the group’s goal is to “complement the implementation of the peace agreement.”
The mediators hope to bring all signatories together for direct conversations to salvage the nation’s peace process and ensure the long-awaited elections can take place.
“We’re looking forward to other signatories of the agreement to also accept and come to the table,” Agiba added.
The 2018 agreement ended a brutal five-year civil war that cost nearly 400,000 lives. Its stalled implementation continues to be a source of instability in the world’s youngest nation.