Insufficient political will, funding hinders peace process- monitors

JUBA – The implementation of South Sudan’s 2018 revitalized peace deal has been hindered by insufficient political will and lack of funding, peace monitors said on Thursday.

In his address at the U.N. Security Council in New York on Wednesday, Charles Tai Gituai, Chairperson of the Reconstituted Joint Monitoring Evaluation Commission (RJMEC), emphasized the pressing need to finance the peace deal.

“With the extended Transitional Period due to begin in just over two weeks, key immediate requirements are the demonstration of political will and provision of funding for the Agreement institutions and mechanisms,” Gituai said.

He stressed the urgent completion of the unification of forces and the alignment of the work programs of the National Constitutional Review Commission (NCRC) and the National Elections Commission (NEC).

Amb. Gituai said the recent confrontation between the South Sudan People’s Defence Forces (SSPDF) and SPLM/A-IO in Western Equatoria State over the dismantling of illegal roadblocks are worrying and violate the 2018 peace deal.

He added, “Persistent levels of intercommunal violence in some parts of the country continue to create disruption and anxiety and are unsettling.”

Retired Kenyan General believed the Tumaini Initiative will address the underlying causes of conflict with strengthened transformative approaches that are both practical and effective.

“The people of South Sudan are looking forward to a positive outcome of these talks and hoping that it will bring practical and enhanced transformative approaches in addressing the root causes of conflict and will hasten the implementation of the Peace Agreement.”

He urged the Council to continue to monitor the South Sudanese peace process as it moves into a crucial stage of the protracted transitional era.

In addition, he urged the international community to rally political will and financial resources to support South Sudan’s first democratic elections in December 2026.