by Julius Gale
JUBA, Sept. 25 (Xinhua) -- Consultations started here on Monday to kick start attempts by an East Africa regional bloc to revive the stalled peace pact and find a political solution to the South Sudan crisis.
The Joint Monitoring and Evaluation Commission (JMEC) convened a day-long stakeholder workshop in Juba to evaluate the status of the shattered 2015 peace agreement and draw up recommendations for the high-level revitalization forum called for by leaders of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) during a meeting in Ethiopia in June.
JMEC Chairperson Festus Mogae said the oversight body has formed several working committees drawn from civil society groups, diplomatic corps and other stakeholders to scrutinize the August 2015 agreement and identify challenges encountering its implementation.
Mogae said the findings from the discussions will form a basis for JMEC's report to IGAD on the status of implementation of the peace agreement.
"I hope that the committee's assessment shall enable the parties, the region and all South Sudanese stakeholders to pursue the revitalization process from an informed point of view and encourage them to take concrete steps to revitalize the implementation of the peace agreement without further delays," Mogae said.
South Sudan has been embroiled in more than three years of conflict that has taken a devastating toll on the people, and creating one of the fastest growing refugee crisis in the world.
A peace deal signed in August 2015 between the rival leaders under UN pressure led to the establishment of a transitional unity government in April, but was shattered by renewed fighting in July 2016.
The UN estimates that at about 4 million people have been displaced internally and externally.
Mogae said the ongoing violence has not only impeded progress on the implementation of the peace agreement, but also reversed many of the gains that had been made initially.
"Conflict has escalated, parties have fractured, new groups have emerged and civilians have continued to be displaced and endure threat of food insecurity amidst a dire economic situation," she said. "I urge the parties to engage constructively in the spirit of finding lasting solution to the conflict in South Sudan."
