Machar expresses concern over slow peace implementation

JUBA – South Sudan’s First Vice President and leader of the main opposition group, Sudan People’s Liberation Movement in Opposition (SPLM-IO), Dr. Riek Machar on Thursday expressed concerns over continued delays in concluding security arrangement which is critical tasks under a 2018 revitalized peace deal.

Addressing members of his party during the opening session of the 4th National Liberation Council meeting in the capital Juba on Thursday, Machar said the continuous delay in passing out 83,000 unified forces made up of South Sudan People’s Defense forces, Sudan People’s Liberation Army in Opposition and forces loyal to South Sudan Opposition Alliance has created a security vacuum in the country.

“The process of implementation of the agreement, I still described it, it is slow but if the phase one of unified forces are graduated definitely the rest will go faster and the confidence of the people in the whole country will be there that the agreement is being implemented,” Machar said.

Machar said the implementation of security arrangements is a critical step toward the restoration of peace and security in the country.

“The non-graduation of unified forces shake the confidence of the parties and even the population. Today we still have refugees returning in small numbers but once they are secure and they are assured of security, they will come back,” he said.

“To them (refugees) having forces on the ground that are unified is a guarantee that there will be no other disturbance happening and they will have confidence in the fact that the agreement is implemented,” he added.

Under the 2018 peace deal, the necessary unified forces should have been graduated at the end of the pre-transitional period in February 2020.

The graduation and unified of force have been delayed with government officials allied to President Salva Kiir Mayardit citing lack of funding and blaming the existing arms embargo imposed on the country by the United Nations Security Council for the delay.

In July 2018, the UN Security Council imposed an arms embargo and assets freeze on some individuals on the pretext of obstructing the process of peace implementation.

In May this year, the UNSC adopted a resolution to renew the arms embargo on South Sudan for a year until May 31, 2022.