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To analyse. An implementation ” very slow”, “recurrent difficulties “. By the admission of Charles Tai Gituai, the head of the commission overseeing the peace process in South Sudan, reconciliation is slipping in the world’s youngest state. While the United Nations Security Council approved, on Tuesday March 15, a resolution renewing for one year the mission of peacekeepers in the country, concerns are increasing about the risks of a resumption of clashes between rival factions.
Independent from Sudan since July 2011, South Sudan could have hoped for a bright future thanks to its natural resources, particularly oil, and vast agricultural potential. But the country has been overtaken by its divisions. In December 2013, Salva Kiir, the South Sudanese president, and Riek Machar, his vice-president, entered into open conflict, leading to a cycle of violence which has claimed an estimated 400,000 lives in five years.
A peace agreement was signed in September 2018, but failed to prevent the proliferation of violence at the community level. In February 2020, the establishment of a government of national unity – Riek Machar returning to his post of vice-president alongside his rival, President Salva Kiir – gave hope for a lasting end to the conflict.
But two years later, only one of the aspects of the peace agreement has been implemented: the reorganization of the country’s governance structures. After the formation of the unity government, the Transitional Legislative Assembly was finally invested in August 2021. The governments and parliaments of the regional states were also recomposed, after long negotiations between the various signatories.
Meanwhile, the humanitarian situation has only worsened, aggravated by the Covid-19 pandemic and historic flooding. More than 70% of South Sudanese will lack food in 2022, according to the UN. In addition, while the ceasefire between the signatories of the agreement has indeed held, local violence has flared up, claiming hundreds of victims. And an active conflict is still ongoing in the south of the country.
“The coming months will be crucial”
“There is a lack of confidence and political will to move forward with the implementation of the peace agreement,” laments Siv Kaspersen, Norway’s ambassador to Juba, while admitting: “This deal is all we have! “. While the transition period should end in less than a year with the holding of elections, ” the coming months will be crucial,” she warns.
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