SPLM Says Key International Partners Declined to Guarantee South Sudan Peace Agreement
By Patricia John Kenyi
The SPLM says several key members of the international community declined to guarantee South Sudan’s peace agreement, a position the party says has contributed to difficulties in implementing the deal.
Speaking on Morning Echo on Friday, SPLM Secretary for Political Affairs, Mobilization and Organization, Ambassador John Andurga Duku, said the United States, United Kingdom and European Union did not guarantee the agreement.
Duku said the issue of international guarantees should be considered when assessing the slow implementation of the peace agreement and the continued challenges facing the peace process.
“Most of the key members of the international community refused to guarantee this agreement. The United States of America declined to guarantee. UK declined,” Duku said.
He said the agreement was discussed under the Troika arrangement, but questioned the commitment of its members as guarantors.
Duku also said China was the only permanent member of the United Nations Security Council that guaranteed the peace agreement, while other international partners did not provide similar guarantees.
The SPLM official argued that international actors who declined to guarantee the agreement should not overlook their role when commenting on delays in its implementation.
He further warned that the peace agreement could take many years to implement if its current framework remains unchanged.“In the current format, it can take us even 100 years. It cannot be implemented the way it is,” Duku said.
Duku’s remarks come amid continued debate over the implementation of South Sudan’s peace agreement, including delays in completing key provisions of the deal.
