-      Hon Kuol Manyang Juuk, Senior Presidential Advisor, Security and Chair, National Transitional Committee

-       Honourable Ministers present

-       Honourable Members of Parliament present

-       Nicholas Haysom Special Representative of the Secretary-General of the UN

-       H.E. Dr Ismail Wais, IGAD Special Envoy to South Sudan

-       H.E. Prof Joram Biswaro, Head of the AU Mission to South Sudan

-       Hon Prof Abednego Akok, Chairperson, National Elections Commission

-       Hon. James Zakayo Akol, Chairperson, Political Parties Council

-       Hon. Dr Riang Yer Zuor, Chairperson, National Constitutional Review Commission

-       Maj-Gen Yitayal Gelaw Bitew, Chairperson, Ceasefire & Transitional Security Arrangements Monitoring & Verification Mechanism (CTSAMVM)

-       Distinguished Guests 

-       Ladies and Gentlemen

Good morning! 

1.  Allow me at the outset to extend greetings and best wishes from H.E. Amb Maj Gen (rtd) Charles Tai Gituai, Interim Chairperson of RJMEC who could not join us this morning due to prior commitments, and he has delegated me to deliver these remarks on his behalf. 

2.  I would also like to cease this opportunity to thank the United Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) and partners for their great efforts towards making this High-Level Leadership Forum on Completing the Political Transition in South Sudan a reality. 

3.  This Forum whose theme is: “Finalizing Security Sector Unification, Advancing the Permanent Constitution-Making Process and Progressing Preparations for Elections” is quite apt at this moment as the country commences the extended Transitional Period in just a few days’ time on 22nd February 2025. 

4.  This Forum seeks to objectively reflect on the realities that inform the current status of implementation of the Revitalized Peace Agreement, enable information dissemination of the status of the peace process, and adopt concrete strategies that enable the country achieve the aspiration of having the first democratic elections in December 2026. 

5.  Further, this Forum will be critical in bringing common understanding among partners on the impediments to the implementation of critical pending tasks, including completion of unification of forces, writing of a new permanent constitution and adequate preparations for the conduct of peaceful elections.

6.  I wish to pay great tribute to the critical actors and stakeholders who have continued to play a vital role in the implementation of the Revitalized Peace Agreement over the past years. Your continuous push and encouragement to the RTGoNU and the Agreement Parties to stay the course is noteworthy. I hereby urge the participants of this workshop to work collectively in generating insightful recommendations that can inform arriving at a common understanding on how best to complete the transition.  

Honourable Members, Excellencies distinguished ladies and gentlemen, 

7.  South Sudan has now enjoyed six and a-half years of observance of the Permanent Ceasefire, which is commendable. The recent unfortunate skirmishes in some parts of the country between parties’ signatories to the Agreement, even though it is a violation of the Permanent Ceasefire provisions, it is important to recognize the strength of the Agreement institutions and mechanisms’ commitment and the resolve of the political leaders of South Sudan to overcome the challenges encountered in the course of the implementation the Peace Agreement.

8.  More importantly, it is evidence enough that the RTGoNU should work with greater urgency to ensure the completion of unification of forces and their redeployment to unify commands and to ensure proper command and control. The unification of all forces will undoubtedly lay a firm foundation for attainment of sustainable peace, security and prosperity for South Sudan.

9.  In this extended Transitional Period, the RJMEC being the official oversight, monitoring and evaluation body established under Chapter 7 of  the Revitalized Agreement will do its part and will continue to robustly execute its mandate, including reminding the Agreement Parties to maintain peace, focus on their commitments to the R-ARCSS including urging them to scale up their efforts in implementing all critical  tasks and adhere to agreed timelines and implementation schedule. 

10.     Key priorities of the transitional period include, among others, the making of the permanent constitution whose provisions will guide the conduct of elections, completion of unification of forces, and sufficient preparations for the conduct of elections. These are the very tasks which have necessitated the repeated extensions of the Agreement to date, because their non-completion risks reversing all the peace gains to date. 

11.     Given that we have only 24 months to the end of this extended transition, RJMEC therefore takes this opportunity to remind the Agreement Parties that the country, the region and the international community have high expectations that there will be no further extension and that all necessary milestones will be realized and marked by a peaceful democratic transition at the end of the Transition Period. 

12.     RJMEC encourages the Agreement Parties, stakeholders and all partners participating in this  Leadership Forum to explore practical approaches to achieve the critical benchmarks that will make the post-transitional arrangement more attractive than the status quo. Such a framework will ensure peaceful democratic elections that will usher in a smooth transition and consolidate the gains of the R-ARCSS. 

 I hereby wish you a successful Forum and fruitful deliberations.