January 24, 2023 (JUBA) – A top European Union (EU) official has expressed concerns over the slow pace of the implementation of key provisions the peace agreement that ended nearly five years of civil war in South Sudan.
David Karpela, the Chief of Cabinet for the EU’s Special Representative made the remarks after meeting South Sudan’s First Vice President Riek Machar in the capital, Juba on Tuesday.
The two leaders discussed the latest developments in the implementation of the agreement, amid calls for peace parties to expedite the formulating the permanent constitution and set up electoral framework for South Sudan to hold its first ever general elections at the end of the transitional period.
The EU official, a statement from the Vice President’s office noted, vowed to continue working with the government to support the implementation of the revitalized agreement and in the areas of development and in providing humanitarian assistance to the needy populations in the country.
On August 4, 2022, parties to the September 2018 peace deal agreed to extend it for another 24 months starting in February 2023, when the original deal is expected to expire. South Sudan’s President Salva Kiir, who signed the extension alongside four other political groups, said that the extension would allow for unification of the armed forces, creation of a new constitution and time to prepare for elections.
Under the roadmap extending the peace deal, the country’s leaders have made commitments to create a Commission on Truth, Reconciliation and Healing (CTRH) by September and a Compensation and Reparations Authority (CRA) by November. Consultations on the CTRH legislation have been finalized and a report presented to the justice minister. Similar consultations are pending on the CRA.
(ST)
