South Sudan peace deal under threat, UNMISS chief warns  

JUBA – The UN Special Representative of the Secretary-General in South Sudan and Head of the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS), Nicholas Haysom, has warned that the slow pace of implementation of the 2018 peace deal put the agreement under serious threat.

Addressing the journalists in a press conference on Wednesday in Juba, the UN head of Mission, Haysom expressed concern over the slow pace of the implementation of the agreement

“The pace of implementation remains too slow and if this continues, there is a risk that the viability of the border agreement will come under threat,” Haysom told journalists on Wednesday.

Haysom urged the parties to inject fresh urgency to finalize the critical tasks of the agreement.

They include security arrangements, legislation promoting financial and judicial reform, and constitutional-making which are critical to preparing the country for elections slated for 2023

“There can’t continue to be a “business as usual” approach. The parties must inject fresh urgency into the process and demonstrate sustained, the collective political will to finalize critical areas of the agreement,” he said.

The UN diplomat urged the political leaders to commit to pushing the peace process forward.

“I think it is under threat to the extent the parties are unable to implement it and I think it is important to say that the agreement that is not implemented will come under threat,” he said.

“This agreement must be implemented for South Sudanese. It has nothing to do with foreigners, and it is something that South Sudanese should be concerned about,” he said.

He reaffirmed the mission’s willingness to support the parties to implement the agreement in order to restore peace and stability in the country.

“We can support you in policies, practice or design and in regard to security sector reform, Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration (DDR) and we can in regard to the training of the forces but we haven’t been asked to provide that support,” he said.