Germany urges consensus in South Sudan peace process

JUBA – The German government has reiterated its call for the need for a consensus among South Sudan’s political leaders on the implementation of the country’s revitalized peace agreement signed in September 2018 to end a five-year-old civil war.

The call was made by the German ambassador to South Sudan, Christian Sedat, and South Sudan’s deputy minister of foreign affairs and international cooperation Monday Semaya Kumba during a meeting held in Juba on Friday.

“We had a productive discussion, amongst other topics about the implementation of the Revitalised Peace Agreement and the current Tumaini initiative,” Sedat said during a joint press briefing with Kumba.

“Germany encourages and welcomes efforts which aim at finding inclusive consensus by all relevant parties on questions of the Peace Agreement and on questions regarding the elections where consensus is still lacking,” he added.

The German envoy further echoed the sentiment of his country’s foreign minister, Annalena Baerbock, who visited Juba in January and emphasized the importance of consensus among political leaders.

According to Sedat, Germany, despite prevailing challenges, remains committed to supporting South Sudan. He said that Germany, as the second-largest bilateral donor, is investing in the

“Germany remains a steadfast partner,” Sedat said. “Just last week, we handed over a new water-supply system in Torit funded by Germany with about USD 2 million which will give more than 40.000 people access to clean drinking water.”

South Sudan leaders are struggling to implement a 2018 peace agreement known as revitalized peace deal.

That agreement was signed to end a deadly conflict that lasted from December 2013, to September 2018 fitting supporters of President Salva Kiir Mayardit and First Vice President Riek Machar killing around 400,000 people, according to 2018 estimates.