-    Your Excellency, the Chairperson of the IGAD Council of Ministers

-    Your Excellencies, Members of the Council

-    Your Excellency, IGAD Executive Secretary

-    Your Excellency, IGAD Special Envoy for South Sudan

-    Hon. Ministers,

-    Your Excellencies,

-    Ladies and Gentlemen,

1.  It is my honour to address this Council today, andI thank you for convening this timely meeting.

2.   RJMEC has been monitoring progress of the Pre-Transitional period, which unfortunately has not been implemented according to the Agreement timelines.

3.  In our assessment report on the status of the implementation of the Pre-Transitional tasks presented to your Excellencies and the Parties, we determined that out of 59 key tasks, only 27 had been completed, 17 were still ongoing while 15 are pending. 

4.  The critical pending tasks include cantonment, training, unification and deployment of forces, the reconstitution of the DDR Commission, as well as determination of the number and boundaries of States and the restructuring and composition of the Council of States. 

5.  Accordingly, I appealed to the leadership of the Parties to urgently meet and take an honest assessment of the status of the implementation of the Peace Agreement and agree on the best course of action. 

6.  I also wrote to the IGAD leadership requesting them to urgently convene an extra-ordinary summit and council meeting to take stock of the status of implementation of the Revitalized Agreement, engage the South Sudanese parties and stakeholders, and make a determination on the best way forward. 

7.  As you are aware, last week the Parties to the Agreement met in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, under the auspices of the IGAD Special Envoy for South Sudan.

8.  Following extensive deliberations, the Parties to the Agreement resolved that the Pre-Transitional period should be extended for six months, effective 12thMay 2019, to allow for the implementation of critical pending tasks. 

 Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,

9.  In the circumstances, I welcome the Parties’ request for a 6 month extension. I note that this extension was necessitated by the failure to implement critical agreed tasks in accordance with the timelines of the Peace Agreement, and therefore urge this Council to consider the request, and take concrete steps to ensure that the Parties implement the Agreement in letter and spirit. 

10.   Our focus should now fall squarely on the leadership of the Parties to demonstrate clear political will and commitment to make sure that the security-related institutions and mechanisms of the Agreement deliver. As resolved by the Parties, the most critical determinant for the formation of the RTGoNU is the unification of forces.

11.   Broken down further, their unification involves the cantonment, disarmament, screening, demobilization, selection, joint training, and deployment of forces. These are now matters of the highest priority.

12.   I also welcome the Parties’ request for IGAD’s Heads of State and Government to convene regular face-to-face meetings of the top leadership of the Parties to the R-ARCSS to review the status of implementation of the Agreement. 

Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,

13.   There are key challenges facing the effective implementation of the Agreement which include financial constraints, slow dissemination, trust deficit, capacity gaps within the various security mechanisms, coordination gaps as well as inadequate support by partners.

14.   In view of this, there is need to take proactive steps and measures to address the aforementioned challenges to ensure effective implementation of the Agreement.

Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,

15.   I wish to submit RJMEC’s recommendations as follows:

a.   The DDR Commission to be reconstituted without any further delay; 

b.  ITGoNU to disburse the funds pledged to the NPTC without any delay; 

c.   The regional and international community to extend additional support for the implementation of the Peace Agreement;

d.  The NPTC to establish clear deadlines for the implementation of tasks that do not require funding;

e.   The immediate demilitarization of civilian centres; 

f.    IGAD Member States and International Partners to second experts to support the various security mechanisms including JDB, JTSC, JMCC, and SDSR; and 

g.   The Independent Boundaries Commission to expedite its work and submit its report. 

Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,

16.   The trust and confidence nurtured over the last 8 months facilitated a consensus that the Pre-Transitional period be extended to enable the full implementation of agreed tasks. This must now be consolidated. I again urge this Council to endorse the request for the 6 month extension of the Pre-Transitional period. 

17.   In conclusion, I must say that success in the coming period, especially the effective implementation of the security arrangements, will create a positive environment for refugees and IDPs to return home.

I wish the Council fruitful deliberations. 

I thank you.