The Executive Director of Community Empowerment for Progress Organisation, Edmund Yakani, has urged the presidency to convene a regular meeting on the status of the implementation of the revitalised agreement.

In a statement issued Friday, Yakani said regular meetings organised by the president are critical for the speedy and genuine implementation of the provisions of the revitalised agreement.

He noted that the absence of regular meetings could impact the decisions regarding the implementation of the peace agreement.

“The lack of regular meeting of the presidency mechanism is not impacting well on decision-making on the genuine implementation of R-ARCSS,” said Yakani.  

“Regular meetings of the presidency mechanism on R-ARCSS implementation in this last phase of the R-ARCSS lifespan is essential,” he added.

The revitalised peace deal resulted in the formation of the South Sudan transitional government in February 2020.

Sudan and Uganda are guarantors of the South Sudan peace agreement, which was signed in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, in September 2018.

The agreement called for a 36-month transition phase followed by a national election, although some major elements of the accord are yet to be implemented.

Meanwhile, Yasmin Sooka, chair of the UN Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan, told journalists on Friday that South Sudan risks descending back into war if certain chapters are not implemented.

“The lack of progress in implementing key provisions of the (peace deal)… contributes to the persistent insecurity and impunity in which human rights violations occur,” she said.

In a statement, the United Nations said: “Members of South Sudanese civil society who met with the Commission said they are scared to discuss the human rights situation, for fear of retaliation by state security services with a track record of violently repressing the expression of political views.”