Troika faults South Sudan's leaders for extending their tenure despite failing to deliver

The Troika (the United Kingdom, Norway, and United States) on Thursday faulted South Sudan’s leaders for extending their tenure despite failing for the past four years to deliver on commitments they made while signing the 2018 revitalized peace agreement, a statement said.

The members of the Reconstituted Joint Monitoring and Evaluation Commission (RJMEC) on Thursday voted to extend the Transitional Period and term of the Revitalized Transitional Government of National Unity (RTGoNU) by two years from 23 February 2023 until 22 February 2025.

However, the Troika statement said that they regret that the government did not postpone ratification of the extension to give time for them to demonstrate, through sustained action and results on the ground, that the new commitment as set out in the Roadmap will be different from the last few years. 

“We regret also that the government did not take the opportunity for meaningful engagement with civil society and other agreement stakeholders, which we believe increases the chances of successful implementation,” the statement read. “With today’s vote in the Reconstituted Joint Monitoring and Evaluation Commission (RJMEC) to extend the transitional period, South Sudan’s leaders again extended their time in power despite failing over the past four years to deliver fully on the commitments they made in the 2018 Revitalized Agreement.”

According to the statement, the Troika, as voting members of RJMEC, could not support the extension at this time. 

“We require further evidence of the Government’s commitment to deliver on the new Roadmap and fully implement the R-ARCSS before we can do so,” it read. “We recognize that the R-ARCSS as an agreement continues to represent an opportunity to build peace and stability in South Sudan.”

The statement added, “Our lack of support for the proposed extension in today’s Extraordinary RJMEC meeting does not diminish our commitment to the South Sudanese people’s quest for peace, prosperity, and democracy.”

The Troika called on South Sudan’s leaders to shoulder their responsibility. 

“To date, the R-ARCSS has prevented a return to large-scale conflict, but it has not delivered democracy, peace, justice, or opportunity for the South Sudanese people,” the Troika said. “They are paying the price for non-implementation through the extreme levels of violence and abuse visited upon civilians across the country.”

The statement said that the Troika, in close coordination with the EU and its member states, regional partners, and other stakeholders, remains convinced that the path to ending their suffering and achieving their goals is through full implementation of the R-ARCSS.

“We support the government’s commitment to a Roadmap to make the best use of the remainder of the original timeframe for the agreement and clarify how it would use any additional time from an extension.  South Sudan’s leaders must now deliver the results they promised in the timeline they committed to through the Roadmap,” the Troika urged. “They must also dedicate sufficient resources to the agreement’s implementation.  This would send an important and positive signal to non-signatories, which we once again call upon to engage constructively in the peace process.”

“We urge South Sudan’s friends and partners to strengthen their monitoring of progress,” the statement added.

According to the Troika, each missed benchmark will further call into question the political commitment of South Sudan’s leaders.