Ambassador Major General (Ret.) George Aggrey Owinow, the Interim Chairperson of the Reconstituted Joint Monitoring and Evaluation Commission (RJMEC), on Thursday said recent diplomatic initiatives led by the African Union (AU), including the appointment of former Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete as the AU High Representative for the Horn of Africa and the Red Sea, have injected fresh momentum into South Sudan’s peace process.
Speaking during a special RJMEC plenary briefing in Juba, he said sustained engagement by the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) leadership and the AU C5 had created renewed optimism for dialogue among South Sudan’s political leaders.
“Currently, the sustained engagement and tireless efforts of IGAD leadership and the A.U. C5 have provided renewed hope for fostering an inclusive dialogue among South Sudanese political stakeholders, consensus-building, and for the implementation of the revitalised peace agreement,” he said.
Gen. Owinow also announced that RJMEC would resume its regular monthly plenary meetings after months of disruption caused by the country’s political and security situation.
“RJMEC has regrettably been unable to convene its regular plenary meetings owing to the challenging political and security environment… and for other technical and logistical reasons,” he said.
Despite the interruption, Owinow said the peace monitoring body had continued to carry out its mandate by producing quarterly reports and engaging key stakeholders.
“During this period, however, the commission continued to function, providing timely quarterly reports and briefings to the RTGoNU, the Transitional National Legislative Assembly, to the guarantors, to the regional leaders and other transition implementing mechanisms,” he added.
He stated that RJMEC had also prioritized high-level diplomatic engagements to address obstacles to implementing the Revitalized Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in South Sudan (R-ARCSS).
According to Owinow, those efforts contributed to the convening of the AU High-Level Ad Hoc Committee, or C5, meeting on South Sudan in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, which later led to the adoption of the AU C5 Plus Declaration.
He noted that following the declaration, Kikwete was appointed AU High Representative for the Horn of Africa and the Red Sea and has since undertaken two diplomatic missions to South Sudan to support implementation of the declaration.
“Against this backdrop of the recently announced election dates, and considering that there are various pending election-related tasks… the briefing today will be critical as it offers an opportunity to the agreement implementation institutions and mechanisms to update us on the status of the implementation of their respective mandates, and also brief us on the current status of the implementation of the roadmap and the way forward,” the RJMEC chairperson said.
He invited institutions responsible for constitution-making, elections, political parties, and security arrangements to present updates on progress and remaining challenges.
These include the National Constitutional Review Commission (NCRC), the National Elections Commission (NEC), the Political Parties Council, the Ceasefire and Transitional Security Arrangements Monitoring and Verification Mechanism (CTSAMVM), and the National Transitional Committee (NTC).
“I kindly invite the agreement institutions and mechanisms responsible for the making of the permanent constitution… the conduct of elections… the registration of political parties… the monitoring of the permanent ceasefire and transitional security arrangements… and, of course, the NTC to provide a briefing on their respective mandates and the way forward,” Owinow said.
The special briefing brought together representatives of the peace implementation mechanisms to assess progress on key provisions of the revitalized peace agreement as South Sudan moves toward the planned elections.
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