A Second Chance to Deliver Peace through Power Sharing: A Comparative Analysis of South Sudan Peace Agreements

Abstract

Since 2013, South Sudan continues to be engulfed in violent conflict that has caused untold human suffering. Despite the 2015 Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in South Sudan (ARCSS) signed by the Government of South Sudan and the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement or Army in Opposition (SPLM-IO), fighting has not stopped. In 2016, deadly fighting broke out at the Presidential Palace which later spread throughout the country that claimed thousands of lives, displaced millions and destoryed countless amount of properties. Equally, the conflict led to increase in criminality by armed men against civilians as well as international non-governmental organizations (INGOs) compounds and personnel. Consequently, government stepped up its surveillance, patrols, and curfew at night in most towns especially in the capital, Juba and set up road blocks to curb the rising rate of crimes. The heightened security measures affected humanitarian aid delivery and fundamental freedoms of movement, association and expression among other issues. The ARCSS brief implementation focused on power-sharing and security control, while relegating some critical reforms agenda such as security sector reforms, justice and accountability, and building local community ownership of the peace process. But most importantly, the guarantors in the region and international community failed to enforce the implementation of some critical provisions in the agreement. At the community level, the violence continued due to historical social injustice, lack of basic social services, communal fighting, repression of minorities, and increased unemployment among the young people. These were issues the 2015 ARCSS implementation did not effectively and timely tackle to build confidence in the new government among citizens. Acknowledging the failure of the ARCSS to stop the conflict and usher new political discourse, IGAD initiated a High-level Revitalization Forum (HLRF) aimed at reviewing the progress of the implementation of the agreement, reconstituting a transitional government and arriving at new realistic timeline that leads to general elections. Since July 2017, IGAD conducted several consultations among various South Sudanese stakeholders including new armed groups to ensure a broad and inclusive peace agreement is reached that will result into sustainable peace, security and stability. Consequently, in September 2018, the Government of South Sudan and various opposition groups signed the revitalized peace agreement to revive the ineffective ARCSS. With this new agreement in place, citizens hope for an overall improvement in security and personal safety, silencing of the guns and new political discourse that guarantees political pluralism, human rights and fundamental freedoms observance and post-conflict recovery. The agreement also provides opportunity for the government and opposition to work together to strengthen the security sector by implementing the stipulated reforms, improve the economy and open space for media and civil society advocacy work. These actions will encourage safe return of refugees and displaced persons for them to rebuild their lives.