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Adopted by the Peace and Security Council (PSC) of the African Union (AU) at its 1060th meeting held on 25 January 2022 on the situation in South Sudan:

25.1.2022

 

COMMUNIQUE

 

 

The Peace and Security Council,

 

Recalling its previous decisions and pronouncements on the situation in South Sudan, particularly Communiques [PSC/PR/COMM.1(CMXC)] adopted at its 990th meeting held on 13 April 2021, and [PSC/PR/COMM. (CMXLV)] adopted at its 945th meeting held on 15 September 2020;

 

Faithful to the AU’s commitment as a guarantor of the Revitalized Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in South Sudan (R-ARCSS) signed on 12 September 2018, herewith referred to as the ‘2018 Revitalized Peace Agreement’;

 

Noting the opening remarks by H.E. Ambassador Amma Adomaa Twum-Amoah, Permanent Representative of the Republic of Ghana to the AU and Chairperson of the PSC for January 2022; also noting the presentation made by H.E Ambassador Prof. Joram Biswaro, Special Representative of the Chairperson of the AU Commission for South Sudan and Head of the AU Mission in South Sudan (AUMISS), and the statements by the Permanent Representative of South Sudan to the AU, Ambassador James Morgan; and the Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary General of the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS);

 

Reaffirming the solidarity of the AU with the people and the Government of the Republic of South Sudan in their legitimate aspirations for the restoration of peace, stability and development;

 

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

 

  1. Commends H.E. President Salva Kiir Mayardit, President of the Republic of South Sudan, for pursuing political dialogue in the implementation of the 2018 Revitalized Peace Agreement, and encourages him to continue to implement the Agreement to the letter and spirit by, amongst others, accommodating all the political stakeholders;

 

 

  1. Also encourages the Presidency and parties to the 2018 Revitalized Peace Agreement to expedite the reconstitution of national and local level commissions and institutions, the Judicial Reform Committee, and the State Assembly of Western Bahr el Ghazal, which will strengthen the executive, legislative and judicial functions of Government;

 

 

  1. Further encourages the Presidency to explore all possible avenues to provide the needed resources, including funds and food, to complete the training of forces for the unified national army; and in this regard, underlines the importance of steadfast efforts towards resolving all the issues concerning the unified command and control structure, and force ratios to speed up the formation of the armed forces;

 

 

  1. Welcomes the efforts of H.E. President Yoweri Museveni and his intention to convene a retreat in Kampala, Uganda, for the South Sudan Presidency to resolve the outstanding areas of the 2018 Revitalized Peace Agreement and encourages IGAD to support these efforts;

 

 

  1. Applauds the signatories to the 2018 Revitalized Peace Agreement who have shown their commitment to its implementation and urges them to continue upholding the supreme interest of the country in pursuance of peace, security and stability;

 

 

  1. Calls on the African Diplomatic Corps in South Sudan to place their total weight and engagement on the operationalisation of the Community Violence Reduction (CVR) programme aimed at achieving an overall reduction of violence and proliferation of arms and bringing about greater security in communities in South Sudan;

 

 

  1. Commends the leaders of IGAD Member States, the Executive Secretary of IGAD and his Special Envoy for South Sudan, the African Diplomatic Corps in South Sudan, the Reconstituted Joint Monitoring and Evaluation Commission (R-JMEC), the Ceasefire and Transitional Security Arrangements, Monitoring and Verification Mechanism and the Representative of the Secretary-General and Head of the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS), and international partners for their support to South Sudan political transition;

 

 

  1. Expresses appreciation to the Rome Sant’Egidio Community for its continued tireless facilitation of peace talks between the South Sudanese stakeholders to resolve the impasse between them;

 

 

  1. Underscores the important role of the AU Ad-hoc High-Level Committee for South Sudan (C5) in supporting the peace process in South Sudan, and in this regard, emphasizes the need to reactivate the C5 engagements on South Sudan peace process;

 

 

  1. Emphasizes the importance of Peacebuilding and Post Conflict Reconstruction Development programs in achieving sustainable peace and stability in South Sudan, and in this regard mandates the African Union PCRD Centre to prioritize South Sudan amongst its priority areas of focus;

 

 

  1. Reiterates the decision adopted through Communique [PSC/PR/COMM.1(CMXVII)] at its 917th meeting held on 9 April 2020 and in this regard, requests the AU Commission to expeditiously dispatch a Post-Conflict Needs-Assessment Mission to South Sudan to engage with the Government of South Sudan in identifying priorities and the required resources for the rebuilding of the country;

 

 

  1. Calls on the international community to lift the arms embargo and other sanctions imposed on South Sudan to enable the country to build the required capacity of the unified armed forces and for them to more effectively discharge their constitutional mandate of defending the territorial integrity of their country;

 

 

 

  1. Appeals to the Member States and the broader international community to redouble their efforts in mobilizing the much-needed humanitarian assistance to the people and government of South Sudan to ease human suffering and restore the dignity of the affected population;

 

 

  1. Also requests the AU Commission to undertake the following:

 

 

  1. To liaise with the Office of the United Nations Secretary-General and the IGAD Executive Secretary to coordinate a trilateral evaluation of the electoral and constitution-making needs of South Sudan, and to submit a report of the evaluation within two months of Council’s decision;

 

  1. To commence consultations with the UN Secretary-General and the IGAD Executive Secretary on the convening of the South Sudan Pledging Conference as provided for in Chapter III, Article 3.2.8 of the 2018 Revitalized Peace Agreement;

 

iii. To deploy all the necessary technical support for the disarmament, demobilization and reintegration (DDR) and Security Sector reform (SSR) programme in South Sudan;

 

 

  1. Decides to undertake a solidarity visit to South Sudan on the second anniversary of the formation of the Transitional Government on 22 February 2022 aimed at encouraging the country as it embarks on the end-phase of the transition, and start the laborious process to the post-transition era; and

 

 

  1. Decides to remain seized of the matter.