JUBA, Oct. 31 (Xinhua) -- The South Sudan peace process has failed to register significant progress due to insufficient political will and lack of dedicated and predictable funding, peace monitors said on Thursday.
Charles Tai Gituai, chairperson of the Reconstituted Joint Monitoring and Evaluation Commission (RJMEC), urged the parties to the 2018 revitalized peace agreement to demonstrate the necessary political will by availing funding for the outstanding critical peace tasks in order to convince the international community to provide its share of funding to the peace process.
"A clear demonstration by the Revitalized Transitional Government of National Unity to mobilize sufficient resources to implement the agreement would be a strong indication of political will and commitment," Gituai said during the meeting of RJMEC members in Juba, the capital of South Sudan.
Gituai said that insufficient funding for security mechanisms and their activities, poor logistical support to training centers and cantonment sites, has hampered the speedy implementation of the security arrangements under chapter 2 of the peace agreement.
He disclosed that some of the critical security mechanisms include the Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration Commission, which is critical for the stabilization of the country.
Last month, the parties extended the transitional period for another two years, eventually postponing elections that were due to take place in December 2024 to December 2026.
South Sudan is supposed to train and deploy 83,000 unified forces made up of police, wildlife, prisons, intelligence and military officers. The government has so far graduated 53,000 unified forces in the first phase in August 2022 but most of these forces are yet to be deployed.
Gituai, however, noted some progress in terms of governance with the recent move by the Political Parties Council, the National Elections Commission, the National Constitutional Review Commission and the National Bureau of Statistics to release their timelines and budget to the government covering the extended transitional period.
"A reformed, effective, independent and impartial judiciary in South Sudan will be an anchor of justice, liberty and the rule of law before, during and after elections, and for the future generations," Gituai said. ■
