Full text: Communiqué of the 34th Extraordinary Summit of IGAD Heads of State and Government

February 9, 2020 AU, Communiques, Newsbeat, South Sudan, Sudan

COMMUNIQUÉ OF THE 34TH EXTRAORDINARY SUMMIT OF IGAD HEADS OF STATE AND GOVERNMENT FEBRUARY 2020 Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Official Emblem of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development, (Photo: File)

February 10, 2020 (SSNN)—The 34th Extraordinary Summit of the IGAD Heads of State and Government was held on 8 February 2019 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, under the chairmanship of H.E. Dr. Abdalla Hamdok, Prime Minister of the Republic of the Sudan. The meeting was attended by H.E. Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, President of the Republic of Uganda; H.E. Ismail Omar Guelleh, President of the Republic of Djibouti; H.E. Salva Kiir Mayardit, President of the Republic of South Sudan; H.E. Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed, President of the Federal Republic of Somalia; H.E. Amb. Raychelle Omamo, Cabinet Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kenya; and H.E. Hirut Zememe, State Minister of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia.
Also in attendance were, H.E. Dr. Workneh Gebeyehu Negewo, Executive Secretary of IGAD; H.E. Smail Chergui, Peace and Security Commissioner of the AUC; H.E. Amb. Dr. Ismail Wais, IGAD Special Envoy for South Sudan; H.E. Amb. Mohamed Ali Guyo, IGAD Special Envoy for the Red Sea, Gulf of Aden and Somalia; H.E. Stephen Kalonzo Musyoka, Kenya Special Envoy to South Sudan; H.E. Jamal El Sheikh, Sudan Special Envoy to South Sudan; H.E. Amb. Lt. Gen. Augostino Njoroge, Interim Chair of RJMEC; and H.E. Maj. Gen. Teshome Gemechu, Chair of CTSAMVM.

The Extraordinary Summit was preceded by the 70th Extraordinary Session of the IGAD Council of Ministers held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, in the morning of 8th February 2020.

After in-depth deliberations on the Report of the 70th Extraordinary Session of the Council of Ministers to the Summit and the report of the IGAD Special Envoy for South Sudan, the Summit:

On South Sudan:

1. Took note of the progress made in the implementation of pretransitional tasks within the extended one hundred days, and the financial, logistical and coordination related challenges that the implementation of the R-ARCSS is facing especially in relation to transitional security arrangements;
2. Appreciated the relentless mediation efforts exerted by the regional Special Envoys from IGAD and South Africa in an attempt to resolve the issue of the number of states and their boundaries; and noted that mediation effort of the Special Envoys has hit a deadlock;
3. Further noted that only thirteen days are left before the end of the one hundred-day extension of the deadline for the formation of the Revitalized Transitional Government of National Unity (R-TGoNU) on 22nd February 2020;
4. Cognizant of the fact that the formation of R-TGoNU has been postponed twice in May and November 2019 and that further extension is neither desirable nor feasible at this stage of the peace process;
5. Further recognizing that the issue of the number of states and their boundaries is an internal South Sudanese matter and hence solution should come from only from the South Sudanese people;
6. Underscoring the need to form an all-inclusive R-TGoNU on firm foundations;
7. Directed that tripartite consultations be held between H.E Prime Minister Hamdock, H.E President Yoweri Museveni and H.E
President Salva Kiir Mayardit that included Dr. Riek Machar, Chairman and Commander-in-Chief of SPLM/ A-IO and the IGAD Executive Secretary H.E Dr. Workneh Gebeyehu on the 9th
February 2020 and report back;
8. Held the tripartite consultations as directed by the Summit on the 9th February 2020 that reviewed the recommendations made in the report of the 70th IGAD Council of Ministers;
9. Agreed to the request of the president of South Sudan H.E. Salva Kiir Mayardit to conduct further consultations with his constituents and report back to the IGAD Chair on the 15th of February 2020;
10. Emphasized the need to speak in one voice and avoid parallel processes that would further complicate the situation.