With the clock ticking and just 12 months to the end of the Transitional Period, much remain at stake in the implementation of the Revitalised Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in the Republic of South Sudan (R-ARCSS).

While the Reconstituted Joint Monitoring and Evaluation Commission (RJMEC) acknowledges progress made, particularly in terms of governance, the Commission takes note of key tasks that remain pending:

1. Several key pieces of legislation are not ratified by the Transitional National Legislative Assembly and State governments are not fully functioning;
2. the forces are not unified;
3. the Special Reconstruction Fund is not established, and millions of South Sudanese remain in refugee camps outside the country or in IDP camps;
4. public financial management reforms remain largely undone;
5. the transitional justice mechanisms are not established; and
6. beyond the drafting of its legislation, the constitution-making process is not progressing as expected. 

The Permanent Constitution process must be fast-tracked, as this is a pre-requisite for the conduct of elections at the end of the Transitional Period. The new constitution represents democratisation, the rule of law and a stable South Sudan.

Further, security is the foundation upon which the country’s future is built. The RTGoNU should make dedicated financial resources available for the completion of the much-delayed Transitional Security Arrangements, especially the graduation and redeployment of the unified forces.

Additionally, a clear plan of action to address the current dire humanitarian situation and the facilitation of voluntary returns of IDPs and repatriation of refugees is needed, while specific reforms that ensure the conduct of credible, free and fair elections at the end of a Transitional Period must be embarked on in earnest.

RJMEC urges the establishment of the Transitional Justice mechanisms, especially the Commission for Truth, Reconciliation and Healing, and the Hybrid Court for South Sudan without further delay. Accountability and justice are important building blocks for peace and reconciliation, and these mechanisms are a cornerstone in building accountability and the rule of law for the Republic of South Sudan.

With these pending tasks and the limited time left, renewed vigor, commitment, compromise and political will are needed to deliver the South Sudan that the R-ARCSS enviages.  The implementation of the Revitalised Peace Agreement remains the best hope for building durable and sustaibanle peace in South Sudan.