The meeting was convened at the request of the Revitalised Transitional Government of National Unity (RTGoNU) for RJMEC members to consider the decision of the Parties to the Revitalised Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in the Republic of South Sudan (R-ARCSS) to extend the Transitional Period of the Peace Agreement for twenty-four months, from 22nd February 2025 to 22nd February 2027.

Article 8.4 of the Revitalised Agreement requires that at least two-thirds of the members consent to an extension of the Agreement, which is 29 of the total 43 members. 34 voted in favour of the extension. 

The RJMEC vote now requires ratification by the Transitional National Legislature, according to the constitutional amendment procedures set out in the Transitional Constitution of the Republic South Sudan, 2011 (as amended).

As the next step, the RJMEC Chairperson will submit the decision and the accompanying resolution to the Council of Ministers to be forwarded to the Transitional National Legislative Assembly for ratification and amendment of the Transitional Constitution. 

Speaking at the opening of the meeting, RJMEC Chairperson Amb. Maj. Gen. Charles Tai Gituai said: “As RJMEC, we have repeatedly expressed our concerns over the slow pace and limited progress in completing the critical requirements for elections, and the lack of sufficient funding for the implementation of the  Agreement.”

He added, “In March this year, we requested the Parties to the R-ARCSS to dialogue on the way forward to ensure the conduct of free, fair, and credible elections in a timely manner as per the Roadmap, but despite all the pressure put, the response has been slow to come out in an appropriate time frame.”

The concern of RJMEC, he said, has been the lack of dedicated and predictable funding in this peace process.  “Therefore, any extension, without guaranteed funding, is not likely to result in a successful outcome,” he said. 

“I therefore call upon the RTGoNU to demonstrate to RJMEC members, how funding in particular, and the other recurrent challenges that have held back the implementation of the R-ARCSS in the past will be remedied to ensure that the critical pending tasks will be completed and elections held as promised,” he concluded.