South Sudan: Towards a Comprehensive and Durable Peace Architecture

The 22nd of February 2020 will be remembered as yet another important day in the political history of the South Sudanese people. This is a significant day when the various opposition political parties in the country joined hands with the Kiir-led ruling political party to form a transitional coalition government as the first step towards securing peace and stability to the world's newest nation pursuant to the Revitalised Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in the Republic of Sudan. Since its creation as an independent State from Sudan 8 years ago, South Sudan has been home to numerous violent internal conflicts which have claimed lives of a significant number of the South Sudanese population and left hundreds of thousands displaced.

The signing of the peace agreement and the formation of an inclusive coalition transitional government has been hailed by the international community as an important step towards securing peace and stability in South Sudan. The United Nations Secretary General, in his statement described the formation of the coalition government as a great "achievement" in  the implementation of the Revitalised Agreement on the Resolution of Conflict in South Sudan (the Revitalised Agreement) . The Chairperson of the African Union Commission also applauded the signatories to the Revitalised Agreement and underscored the point that this was an important "milestone towards building a peaceful, stable, united and prosperous" South Sudan. No doubt, this was surely an important and necessary step towards building durable and sustainable peace given the fact that the South Sudanese have, hitherto, endured enough wars and displacement for a protracted period of time in the history of this nation.

While the formation of the transitional government should be applauded for bringing the much needed peace and stability to South Sudan it must, however, be emphasised that this is only the beginning of a long road towards building enduring peace, stability and security in this country. As the name suggests itself, this current government architecture is only a transitional arrangement whose success is dependent on a number of factors, chief among them, being the political will of all the signatories to the Revitalised Agreement. It must not be underplayed that this is not the first time the warring factions in South Sudan's political system have negotiated a peace deal. In 2015, the parties to the conflict once signed a peace agreement which was brokered by the regional security organisation, the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD). The warring parties also acquiesced to external pressure especially from the neighbouring countries who were being affected by the spill over effects of the civil war especially the mass influx of displaced South Sudanese who were fleeing the ravaging violent conflicts. The parties to the civil conflict later reneged on the deal and the country was subsequently thrown into turmoil again.

It must be noted that this is not the first time a coalition government is being witnessed on the African continent. Kenya and Zimbabwe are good examples of countries that recently had such transitional arrangements which were a result of violent conflicts pursuant to disputed electoral outcomes. While Zimbabwe relatively enjoyed some peace and stability during the subsistence of the ZANU (PF) and MDC inclusive government from 2009 to 2013, the country was quickly thrown into the socio-economic and political doldrums following the expiration of the inclusive government in the aftermath of the 2013 harmonised elections. The situation continued to deteriorate culminating into a coup d'état against Zimbabwe's long serving president, Mr Robert Mugabe, in November 2017. This was mainly because the parties to the agreement failed to nurture the nascent and fragile peace during the subsistence of the inclusive government through failure to implement political reforms to enhance democratic governance in Zimbabwe. The Zimbabwe situation, therefore, provides vital lessons to the political leadership of the South Sudanese Transitional government. In order to build durable peace, stability and security in South Sudan, there is an ardent need for the political authorities to ensure that all the agreed political reforms as encapsulated in the Revitalised Agreement are fully implemented right from the onset. As such, the formation of this unity government is only a primary step towards the more challenging reform processes that will require dedicated, collegiate and transparent leadership to deliver on the legitimate expectations of the people of South Sudan to live in a peaceful, stable, secure nation which is able to ensure that they are able to full enjoy their human rights and lead normal lives.

It is very encouraging to note that the Revitalised Agreement contains key important enablers, which if fully and religiously implemented will definitely help to build durable and sustainable peace in South Sudan. Apart from the fact that the Revitalised Agreement is fully inclusive of the key political authorities in South Sudan, the agreement also makes provision for the creation of a hybrid or special court, a truth and reconciliation commission as well as a reparations commission which are aimed at promoting unity, reconciliation and justice and addressing impunity. The centrality of justice, reconciliation and national healing in peace building processes especially in the aftermath of protracted periods of violent conflicts cannot be emphasised. It is now generally accepted that securing stability and sustainable peace in a country emerging from a violent conflict is predicated on ensuring that there is accountability for gross violations of human rights and also the provision of reparations to affected persons.

In summation, the South Sudanese Transitional government has a mammoth and arduous task of ensuring that South Sudan returns to peace, stability and reconciliation and ensures that the country is put back on a developmental trajectory. Although the warring factions have taken a necessary step towards building sustainable peace, it should not be underplayed that potential challenges lie ahead and these include political will of the parties involved, mistrust and suspicions, resource limitations as well as possible resistance by some of the parties to implement certain issues deemed politically sensitive such as justice and accountability matters. There is, therefore, an ardent need for the parties in the transitional government fully commit themselves and work together to ensure that the agreed issues as contained in the Revitalised Agreement are fully implemented during the subsistence of the coalition government. The international community also has an obligation pursuant to the provisions of the Charter of the United Nations to lend their support in ensuring that lasting peace is brought to South Sudan. Finally, the people of South Sudan being the ultimate and immediate beneficiaries of a peaceful and stable South Sudan equally have an important role to play especially in promoting unity and cohesion within their communities and cooperating with authorities in building a stable and secure nation.