African Union tells Machar to relocate to Juba to build confidence with Kiir

JUBA – The African Union Peace and Security Council (AUPSC) has urged SPLM-IO leader Dr. Riek Machar Teny to move to Juba so that he build confidence with his main rival, President Salva Kiir Mayardit.

Machar is in the Sudanese capital Khartoum where he is being kept by the region under “illegal” confinement. The SPLM-IO has in several occasions called for Machar’s release arguing that it was useless to keep him under that status as he is a signatory to the revitalized peace agreement.

He signed a revitalized peace deal in September 2018 to end the bloody civil which begun in December 2013 after thousands of ethnic Nuer were massacred by a militia group reportedly acting on President Kiir’s orders.

Below is the full communique of the AUPSC on South Sudan.

“Communiqué of the 905th meeting of the Peace and Security Council on the situation in the Republic of South Sudan, 27 January 2020

Adopted by the Peace and Security Council at its 905th Meeting held on 27 January 2020, on the situation in the Republic of South Sudan.

The Peace and Security Council,

Recalling its previous communiqués and press statements on the situation in South Sudan, including Communique PSC/AHG/COMM (DCXXVI) adopted at its 720th meeting held on 20 September 2016 in New York, Communique PSC/PR/COMM. (DCCLI) adopted at its 751st meeting held on 8 February 2018 and PSC/PR/COMM. (DCCLXVIII) adopted at its 768th Meeting held on 26 April2018, as well as its Communique PSC/AHG/COMM.(DCCLXXXIII) adopted at its 783rd meeting held in Nouakchott, Mauritania, at the level of Heads of State and Government, on 30 June 2018, Communique PSC/PR/COMM. (DCCCLXXXVI) adopted at its 886th meeting held on 15 October 2019 and PSC/PR/COMM.(DCCCXCIV) adopted at its 894th meeting held on 14 November 2019;

Taking note of the statement by H.E. Ambassador Idriss Mohamed Farah of Djibouti in his capacity as the acting Chairperson of the PSC for the month of January 2020, and introductory remarks by the Director for Peace and Security Dr. Admore Kambudzi, on behalf of the Commissioner for Peace and Security and the presentations by the Special Representative of the Chairperson of the Commission for South Sudan, H.E. Ambassador Joram Biswaro and also noting the statements made by the representatives of the Republic of South Sudan, the Republic of The Sudan, in its capacity as chair of the Inter- Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD), the Acting Chairperson of the Reconstituted Joint Monitoring and Evaluation Commission (R-JMEC), the Republic of South Africa, in its capacity as Chairperson of the AU Ad Hoc High Level Committee for South Sudan, by the Special Envoy of the Secretary General of the United Nations to the Horn of African as well as the representative of the IGAD Special Envoy to South Sudan;

Reaffirming the solidarity of the African Union with the people and the government of South Sudan in their aspirations to restore peace, stability and development in their country;

Acknowledging the efforts being deployed by the Government of South Sudan and all the parties, as well as the overall progress achieved to date in the implementation of the Revitalised Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in South Sudan;

Acting under Article 7 of its Protocol, the Peace and Security Council:

1. Commends H.E. President Salva Kiir, Dr. Riek Machar, and leaders of the other opposition groups for continuously holding generative dialogue, and encourages all parties to continue to address the difficult issues confronting the implementation of the Peace Agreement; as well as to sustain the dialogue;
2. Welcomes the ongoing participation of Dr. Riek Machar in the implementation of the Peace Agreement, in particular his two weeklong stay in Juba, and encourages him to relocate to Juba permanently as part of the efforts to rebuild South Sudan;
3. Urges all parties to unequivocally adhere to the extended deadline of 22 February 2020, the second extension of 100 days for the formation of an inclusive Revitalised Transitional Government of National Unity (R-TGoNU), with a view to rebuilding trust and confidence; underscores the importance of committing to and respecting the agreed timelines in the R-ARCSS, to pave way for the effective organisation and creation of a conducive environment for holding national elections at the end of the interim process; which would enable the people of South Sudan to enjoy their democratic right of electing political representatives of their choice;
4. Expresses its gratitude to the Sant’Egidio Community of Rome for successfully facilitating the Rome Declaration with the holdout groups to agree to a ceasefire in South Sudan; and takes note with satisfaction of the pledge made by General Thomas Cirilo, General Paul Malong, and Mr. Pagan Amum to cease hostilities. Furthermore, encourages them to intensify efforts towards their active contribution to the stabilisation and development of South Sudan;
5. Congratulates Sudan on its assumption of the Chairmanship of IGAD, and expresses the hope that under the auspices of Sudan, IGAD will advance efforts towards regional integration underpinned by political, security and economic cooperation;
6. Commends H.E. David Mabuza, Deputy President of South Africa and Special Envoy to South Sudan for his tireless negotiation of the South Sudan boundaries and States issue and encourages him to sustain his engagement given the imperative to help the Parties overcome this critical aspect of the R-ARCSS;
7. Pays tribute to the AU, IGAD, RJMEC, and CTSAMVM for holding a workshop of the security mechanisms on 18 and 19 November 2019, which further produced a roadmap with timetable and budgets to guide the security mechanisms on their tasks in the 100 days;
8. Expresses its renewed resolve and unwavering support to IGAD, AU Commission, RJMEC, CTSAMVM for the efforts to ensure the successful implementation of the Transitional Security Arrangements remaining days of the 100 days extended Pre-Transitional Period ;
9. Takes note of the 40 million United States Dollars released by the government for support to the implementation process of the Revitalized Agreement and further calls for the urgent release of the balance of funds required to undertake critical tasks towards the formation of the T-GoNU;
10. Demands that all military and security personnel illegally occupying the 25 civilian buildings immediately vacate these premises without preconditions and warns that such actions constitute violations of international law and continued defiance of this warning will lead to instituting of sanctions on all those responsible;
11. Encourages the Security Supervisory Mechanism (SSM) to engage and support the Parties to develop measures to resolve the logistical challenges that constrain the training of the Necessary Unified Forces; calls upon the SSM to release its 100 days mid-term report as soon as possible;
12. Notes with serious concern, the escalating humanitarian crises in South Sudan; and strongly appeals to the African Union member states and the international community for material and where necessary financial contributions towards alleviating the plight of the people of South Sudan;
13. Congratulates the Member States, which have provided financial and material support to the government of South Sudan, in particular Egypt, Nigeria and South Africa and calls on the other Member States to also make their contributions to the efforts to implement the Revitalized Agreement; also calls on the international community as a whole to provide the necessary financial, material and logistical support for the peace process in South Sudan;
14. Recalls its decision to visit to South Sudan, and reaffirms its commitment to undertaking a field visit before the expiration of the 100-day extended Pre-Transitional Period on 22 February 2020, with the aim of encouraging and motivating the Parties to commit to the formation of the R-TGoNU;
15. Encourages the AU C5 to elevate its deferred visit to South Sudan to the level of Heads of State, in the light of the weighty issues at stake in the current Pre-Transitional Period; which in order to further urge the South Sudanese leaders to form the R-TGoNU on the agreed date following the 100 days extension;
16. Welcomes the proposal to convene the AU C5 meeting on South Sudan on the margins of the 33rd AU Ordinary Summit of the AU in early February 2020, as expression of its support to the South Sudanese peace process, at this critical juncture and to urge the parties to form the interim government as per the agreed timelines;
17. Encourages IGAD to convene at a Summit level, a meeting on the margins of the 33rd AU Ordinary Summit, so that its outcomes could be shared with the AU Heads of State and Government;
18. Commends H.E. President Salva Kiir for the release of a large number of prisoners to mark the New Year 2020; and encourages him to release all remaining political prisoners as a confidence building measure especially at this very critical period of the peace process;
19. Reiterates that the R-ARCSS provides the South Sudanese a unique and sustainable platform for ending the war in South Sudan; and requests the international community, especially AU member states, to continue providing technical and financial support to the peace process, in order to ensure respite from persistent war and end the misery for the people of South Sudan;
20. Decides to remain seized of the matter.”