(JUBA) – The Interim Chairperson of the Reconstituted Joint Monitoring and Evaluation Commission (RJMEC), Ambassador Maj Gen George Aggrey Owinow (rtd), has warned that South Sudan’s peace agreement faces its most serious challenges since its signing in 2018, as political mistrust and security clashes continue to undermine implementation.
Speaking during the 4th Extraordinary Plenary of RJMEC held in Juba on Tuesday, Ambassador Owinow said a series of violent incidents, detentions of senior leaders, and growing divisions within political parties had created deep uncertainty over the future of the Revitalised Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in the Republic of South Sudan (R-ARCSS).
Ambassador Owinow, who assumed office in March 2025, told delegates that earlier plenary meetings had been postponed several times due to security concerns and regional consultations. Despite the disruptions, he said RJMEC continued to produce quarterly progress reports and hold consultations with political and regional stakeholders to uphold the peace accord.
The Chairperson said the meeting aimed to update members on the status of peace implementation, provide a platform for deliberation, and recommend actions to restore the peace process. He noted that implementation of the R-ARCSS had been severely affected by recent events, including the 7 March clashes in Nasir County, Upper Nile State, which resulted in the death of a senior South Sudan People’s Defence Forces (SSPDF) general and a UNMISS helicopter crew member.
The aftermath of the Nasir incident led to arrests and court proceedings involving key SPLM/A-IO leaders, including First Vice President Dr Riek Machar. These developments, Owinow said, have disrupted several peace mechanisms, such as the Ceasefire and Transitional Security Arrangements Monitoring and Verification Mechanism (CTSAMVM), which has been non-functional in some areas.
In response, RJMEC intensified diplomatic engagement at both national and regional levels, urging guarantors and international partners to push for dialogue, ceasefire adherence, and the release of detainees. Ambassador Owinow said these appeals had received broad support from regional organisations, the African Union, and the United Nations.
He acknowledged that the humanitarian situation had worsened as insecurity and flooding destroyed health facilities and supply chains across several counties, leaving many citizens without essential services.
Ambassador Owinow said mistrust among the peace parties, unilateral decision-making, and unresolved internal disputes had weakened the implementation of the peace deal. The slow pace of unifying security forces, he added, had also led to clashes between major armed groups, threatening stability.
He revealed that RJMEC had recently conducted an audit of the institutions implementing the peace agreement and found that political tensions had severely weakened many bodies at both national and state levels. The power-sharing structures, he said, had been violated in several areas, calling for urgent correction to restore confidence.
Ambassador Owinow briefed several regional leaders, including the President of Djibouti, Ismail Omar Guelleh, and the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Djibouti, Abdoulkader Houssein Omar, as well as the African Union Peace and Security Council and the UN Security Council, about the worsening situation in South Sudan.
He stressed that while the region and the international community were aware of the country’s fragile state, the responsibility to fix the crisis lies squarely with the Revitalised Transitional Government of National Unity (RTGoNU) and the signatories to the peace agreement.
The RJMEC Chairperson urged all parties to stop hostilities, engage in open dialogue, and reactivate the institutions responsible for peace implementation. He also called on the government to allocate predictable funding for security arrangements, constitutional-making bodies, and preparations for the planned elections in December 2026.
Ambassador Owinow concluded by urging all peace partners to act decisively to protect the progress already made under the peace deal and prevent the country from sliding back into violence.
2025 10 07 Plenary Statement 4th RJMEC Extraordinary meeting V2 - Chair
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