The Reconstituted Joint Monitoring and Evaluation Commission (RJMEC) has called on the government of South Sudan to fund its activities.
This is after the United States announced that it will no longer offer financial support to the peace monitoring body.
RJMEC and other peace implementation mechanism have largely depended on external funding from international donors such as the United States, United Kingdom, Norway, Canada, and European Union.
The slow pace of the implementation of the 2018 peace deal has been attributed to a lack of political will and funding by the unity government. This month, the United States said it is pulling out its support for RJMEC and CTSAMVM due to lack of will from South Sudanese leaders to implement the 2018 peace agreement.
“As you may already be aware, the US government recently suspended its financial support to the RJMEC and CTSAMVM – a move which will impact our operational capacity,” said Major General (Retired) Charles Gituai, Chairperson of RJMEC.
Crucial reforms yet to be realized in the peace deal include institutional reforms, enactment of permanent constitution, graduation of unified forces, funding of reparation and reconciliation bodies, among others.
On Thursday, Gituai called on the Revitalized Transitional Government of National Unity to pick up the mantel of support to the peace monitoring body.
“I appeal to the RTGoNU to allocate adequate funding for the implementation of the agreement including the nationals within the mechanism, service delivery, livelihood and constitution making process in the 2022/2023 budget.”
He urged partners to continue with their support in order to sustain the little gains made in the implementation of the peace deal.
“I appeal to all the partners and friends of South Sudan to continue supporting RJMEC and CTSAMVM and the full implementation of the A-ARCSS,” Gituai appealed.
The transitional period is expected to an end in the next six months although most of the provisions in the peace deal have not been implemented.