PRESS RELEASE
27 October 2017, Juba, South Sudan
JMEC Publishes ARCSS Evaluation Report
JMEC has today, Friday 27th October, published the September 2017 ARCSS Evaluation Report.
Click here to view and download the report on our new-look website - http://www.jmecsouthsudan.org/index.php/reports/arcss-evaluation-reports
JMEC remains fully focused on its mandate to monitor and evaluate the implementation of the Peace Agreement and to support IGAD.
The JMEC Working Committees, comprising regional and international guarantors, the TGoNU and other South Sudanese stakeholders, have undertaken a comprehensive evaluation of the status of implementation of the Peace Agreement complete with observations and recommendations.
This evaluation report has been presented to IGAD pursuant to our mandate and is expected to contribute to ensuring a successful High Level Revitalisation Forum by enabling the Parties, the region and all South Sudanese stakeholders to pursue the revitalisation process from an informed point of view.
PRESS RELEASE
18 October 2017, Juba, South Sudan
JMEC CHAIRMAN WELCOMES REVITALISATION PROGRESS, SAYS "WORLD IS WATCHING WITH HIGH EXPECTATIONS".
At the opening of the October JMEC Plenary in Juba, JMEC Chairman, H.E. Festus Mogae, welcomed the progress made within the IGAD-led revitalisation process and announced the imminent publication of a comprehensive evaluation of the status of implementation of the Peace Agreement.
The Chairman said, “I am delighted to hear from the IGAD Special Envoy, Ambassador Ismail Wais, that positive progress has been made and that all Parties consulted have approached the process in a constructive and peaceful frame of mind. I thank all those who took part.
"After more than a year of unacceptable turmoil and unimaginable distress suffered by millions of South Sudanese, this revitalisation process offers an opportunity for the leaders of all communities to sit together, bring the violence to an end and determine a political path forward.
"The people of South Sudan hope and pray for peace and stability and the world is watching with high expectations.
"I encourage them all Parties to take the necessary steps and compromises to revitalise the implementation of the Peace Agreement without further delay and deliver a lasting solution to the conflict in South Sudan."
Every month the JMEC Chairman presents his report to the Board members, including representatives of the Transitional Government of National Unity, South Sudanese Stakeholders, IGAD member states, the UN, the Troika (US, UK, Norway), China, EU and International Partners Forum and Friends of South Sudan.
Reports are also received from the Transitional Government of National Unity (TGoNU), Ceasefire and Transitional Security Arrangements Monitoring Mechanism (CTSAMM), Joint Military Ceasefire Commission (JMCC), Joint Integrated Police (JIP), Strategic Defence and Security Review Board (SDSRB) and the National Constitutional Amendment Committee (NCAC).
With regard to the JMEC ARCSS evaluation report, the JMEC Chairman said, “Our evaluation report will be presented to IGAD pursuant to our mandate and will form part of our contribution to ensuring a successful High Level Revitalisation Forum.
"Fundamental to the whole report is the irrefutable fact that the permanent ceasefire has been and continues to be violated by all the Parties with impunity and as such security has deteriorated to a critical level.
"I have previously described implementation of the Peace Agreement as being “modest, at best” and from the evaluation reports presented I have heard nothing to change my view."
PRESS RELEASE
October 05, 2017, Juba
NCAC holds stakeholder’s forum on South Sudan security laws.
The National Constitutional Amendment Committee (NCAC) has on Thursday held a key stakeholders forum to review South Sudan’s national security laws.
The forum was called to discuss proposed amendments presented by the NCAC and receive feedback and inputs from the stakeholders, who are drawn from the security forces, the parties to the 2015 Peace Agreement, civil society organizations, United Nations and various other experts.
The laws in focus are the SPLA Act (2009), the Police Service Act (2011), National Security Act (2014), the Prisons Service Act (2011), and the Wildlife Act (2011).
Speaking during the opening of the forum, the Joint Monitoring and Evaluation Commission (JMEC) Deputy Chairperson Amb. Gen. Augostino Njoroge lauded the efforts by the NCAC to amend and review laws to conform to the 2015 Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in South Sudan (ARCSS).
“In the process of developing amendments to the laws, the Committee adopted a very participatory process which includes consultations with the security institutions and holding an experts meeting,” he said.
The Committee, chaired by constitutional lawyer Mr. Gichira Kibara, will thereafter consider the input by the stakeholders and where necessary revise the proposed amendments before incorporating them into the draft bills to be presented to the Minister of Justice and Constitutional Affairs.
The amendments will also be presented to the Transitional National Legislative Assembly (TNLA) for debate and subsequent enactment.
Amb. Njoroge said amendment to both the Constitution and the law by the NCAC, “are vital to the effective implementation of the Agreement”.
NCAC, whose mandate is derived from the ARCSS, has already finalized and submitted the Constitutional Amendment Bill to the Minister for Justice and Constitutional Affairs. The Committee has also commenced work on the Political Parties Act and the Elections Act.
On his part, Minister for Defence and Veteran Affairs, Hon. Kuol Manyang Juuk, who officially opened the one-day forum, said the successful implementation of the legal regulatory framework will add credibility to the broader calls for reform within the security forces in South Sudan.
“The fact that we have come thus far, despite the delays hitherto encountered, demonstrates our collective commitments not only to the transformation of the security forces, but also to the honest quest for peace, security and development in this country. Those are fundamental steps towards the implementation of the ARCSS,” he said.
“The review of all the documents related to the security sector is of the utmost priority. This is because there is an urgent need to accelerate and rectify all the amendments and make them into functional laws and transform the security forces into a professional and disciplined force.”
The Minister called on the Parties and stakeholders to agree on timelines to submit their proposals in order to accelerate the constitutional amendment process.
PRESS RELEASE
29 September 2017, Juba, South Sudan
JMEC: South Sudan women real agents for peaceful transformation
There is an urgent need to enhance women’s role in the effective implementation of the Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in South Sudan (ARCSS), the Joint Monitoring and Evaluation Commission (JMEC) has said.
JMEC Chairperson H.E. Festus Mogae said, “I am a firm believer in the ability and power that women have to make real contributions to sustainable peace in any country. It now widely acknowledged that women are real agents of peaceful transformation in communities the world over. South Sudanese women are no exception.“
He added “The Peace Agreement concerns all citizens of South Sudan and they must have ownership over it. You, as the peoples’ representatives and are best placed to make this a reality,”
The Chairperson was addressing members of the Women Parliamentary Caucus (WPC) in South Sudan, during a workshop on the ARCSS, in Juba yesterday.
“I urge you to hold the parties accountable as pertains to women’s participation and engagement in ARCSS institutions and processes. You as Members of Parliament have a voice that you can deploy to advance gender equality,” the Chairperson urged the Members of the Transitional National Legislative Assembly (TNLA).
The one-day workshop was intended increase understanding by the WPC members on the ARCSS and creates space and opportunity for them to discuss their role in the implementation of the Peace Agreement.
Women parliamentarians (106 in the current TNLA) are a significant constituency for the implementation of the ARCSS and their role in monitoring implementation is central to ensuring fidelity to the Agreement.
PRESS RELEASE
27 September 2017, Juba, South Sudan
JMEC: Credible elections not feasible in South Sudan
Due to mass displacement, severe food insecurity and total lack of institutional and constitutional infrastructure, credible elections will not be feasible in South Sudan at the end of the current transitional period, the Chairperson of the Joint Monitoring and Evaluation Commission (JMEC), has said.
Addressing the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) on Tuesday, H.E. Festus Mogae said there is “irrefutable fact that the permanent ceasefire has been and continues to be violated by all the Parties with impunity” and that “security has deteriorated to a critical level” with six million people now reported to be severely food insecure.
Further, Mogae noted, whilst some progress has been made in the implementation of the 2015 Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in the Republic of South Sudan (ARCSS), “it is greatly disappointing” that after two years, several transitional institutions and mechanisms have not been established.
The institutions include the Special Reconstruction Fund, the Economic and Financial Management Authority, the Compensation and Reparations Authority, and other key transitional justice institutions.
“Most importantly, there has been no progress whatsoever in the Permanent Constitution-making process,” the Chairperson said.
The Chairperson of JMEC was addressing the New York-based UNSC via video-conference from Juba.
Mogae reaffirmed his call that the IGAD-led High Level Revitalization Forum expected to be held in the coming weeks remains “the best opportunity” to restore peace and rebuild governance in South Sudan.
“There is a fundamental need for a demonstration of political will by the Parties to undertake their responsibility to implement the provisions of the Peace Agreement. All forms of obstruction to the delivery of humanitarian aid must be removed,” he added.
“The Transitional Government of National Unity (TGoNU) must expedite and conclude the constitutional and legislative amendments and initiate without further delay the Permanent Constitution-making process.”
PRESS RELEASE
25 September 2017, Juba, South Sudan
JMEC to hold evaluation review workshop on the status of implementation of the ARCSS
South Sudan is yet to enjoy the peace dividends that the Agreement of the Resolution on the Conflict in South Sudan (ARCSS) was expected to deliver, the Chairperson of the Joint Monitoring and Evaluation Commission (JMEC) has said.
The Joint Monitoring and Evaluation Commission (JMEC) will on Monday hold an evaluation review workshop on the status of the implementation of the Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in the Republic of South Sudan (ARCSS).
The Joint Monitoring and Evaluation Commission (JMEC) has reiterated its call for a unified regional, continental and global approach towards the full implementation of the South Sudan Peace Agreement.
The Joint Monitoring and Evaluation Commission (JMEC) has reiterated its call for a unified regional, continental and global approach towards the full implementation of the South Sudan Peace Agreement.
The Joint Monitoring and Evaluation Commission (JMEC) yesterday hosted a key Humanitarian Affairs discussion Forum at Crown Hotel in Juba.
The Joint Monitoring and Evaluation Commission in conjunction with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) have held a two-day media workshop on the Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in the Republic of South Sudan (ACRSS).