South Sudan peace talks under way
THE second phase of the High Level Revitalisation Forum (HLRF), the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) sponsored peace talks on South Sudan, are under way in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa.
The talks, which began on Monday – despite a boycott of the event by the South Sudan government – are scheduled to end on February 16, the Sudan Tribune reported.
The launch of the HLRF followed the signing of a cessation of hostilities agreement that has been poorly enforced by the two chief protagonists, the Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA) of President Salva Kiir, and the SPLA-In Opposition led by Dr Riek Machar who is in exile in South Africa.
The launch went ahead despite a boycott by Juba which stated it had issues with the fact that regional bloc IGAD had only given the government negotiations team 12 seats at the negotiating table when “there was a need for every member of the team to have a seat”.
The second phase is discussing the implementation of a permanent ceasefire, which is part of the 2015 peace agreement, elaborating on a revised and realistic timeline and a schedule towards general elections in the country at the end of the interim period.
At the opening session the head of IGAD’s Council of Ministers, Workineh Gebeyehu, warned the players to the ongoing conflict in the world’s newest country that this was their last chance to try and bridge the political divide and reach a compromise if they wanted to see a cessation of hostilities.
The AU Commission (AUC) chairperson Moussa Faki Mahamat further urged the participants to have the necessary seriousness and courage to shoulder their responsibility at this critical juncture in the history of their country.
“The commitment that had been made has never been honoured. Hardly had the ink on the cessation of hostilities agreement dried when clashes erupted in numerous parts of the country,” he stressed.
Ismail Wais, IGAD’s Special Envoy for South Sudan, urged the parties to desist from ceasefire violations while simultaneously warning that those who carried out violations would face sanctions from the AU, IGAD and the UN.
At the end of last year, Festus Mogae, the head of the Joint Monitoring and Evaluation Commission (JMEC) and a former president of Botswana, called for a unified voice to end the conflict. Mogae told parties from the coalition government that a one-voice approach would strengthen revitalisation efforts to end conflict in the country.
“Collectively, IGAD Heads of State must prevail over the South Sudanese leadership to rethink the current trajectory of the country and take the necessary steps to restore peace and inclusive governance,” said Mogae.
To this end a five point approach was unveiled, which Mogae said if accepted and implemented by the relevant parties without hesitation, would end the country’s ongoing civil war which began in 2013.
An inclusive political process, which brought together all parties and estranged groups, a cessation of all hostilities and a renegotiated permanent ceasefire that included all armed groups, was one of the best approaches, according to the JMEC chairman.
This approach would involve the establishment of transitional security arrangements with robust verification and enforcement mechanisms.
Mogae also called for reforms to ensure conduct of credible elections at the end of the transitional period.