Rights body welcomes declaration on peace process by holdout groups

January 14, 2020 News

Participants of civil society groups in Nairobi from 18 to 20 November 2019

January 14th, 2020 (SSNN)- The Center for Peace and Advocacy (CPA), a civil society group based in Uganda, has welcomed the recent declaration on process by holdout opposition groups signed on Sunday in Rome under the auspices of the community of Egidio – a Rome-based lay Catholic association.

“We firmly believe that any peace agreement, which does not have comprehensive and popular support at the grassroots level and does not include all Non-signatories of opposition groups, is bound to fail,” the civil society group said in its statement.

“In fact, the ongoing implementation of the peace deal will act as a benchmark for community mobilization, and most importantly, it could help South Sudan’s communities in neighboring countries understand what the R-ARCSS 2018 is all about.”

The rights group underscored that bringing together different stakeholders and political leaders is a milestone towards the full implementation of the peace agreement.

Ter Manyang Gatwech, CPA’s National Coordinator, stressed that in order to achieve lasting and sustainable peace, all stakeholders must be brought on boards so that they can be part of the upcoming unity government.
He emphasized that their participation may lead to a proper understanding of peace, rule of law and democracy in South Sudan.

“Understanding the role of leadership in promoting the rule of law, democracy and human rights that different stakeholders will play is crucial to establishing democracy in this country.”

“Therefore, we urge the incoming leaders in the Unity Government to promote and respect human dignity, freedom, democracy, equality, the rule of law and respect for human rights as they are the fundamental values upon which every community and the country must be established upon.”

“These values are embedded in humanity and the failure to realize their importance and protect them is always the sources of instability in any country.”

The civil society group calls on the Kiir administration to engage holdout groups.

“We urge Government, SPLM-IO, IGAD,AU and international community to engage Gen. Thomas Crillo, Gen. Paul Manlong, Pagan Amum and plus the rest of opposition groups who are not signatories to the peaceagreement.”