ADDIS ABABA, Aug. 22 (Xinhua) -- East African policymakers have lauded the recent improved security situations in South Sudan which in turn facilitates the spontaneous return of refugees and Internally Displaced People (IDPs) to their original areas.
They made the remarks as parties to South Sudan's peace deal gathered in Ethiopia's capital Addis Ababa on late Wednesday as part of the regional bloc Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD)'s efforts to find lasting solutions to the stalemate on the permanent resolution of the conflict in South Sudan.
"The Permanent Ceasefire has continued to hold, and this has resulted in an overall improvement in the general security situation that we witness today across the country," Augostino Njoroge, Interim Chairperson of the Reconstituted Joint Monitoring and Evaluating Commission (RJMEC), said as he presented major developments in South Sudan's peace process.
"I commend all the parties for observing the Permanent Ceasefire," Njoroge said, adding "the security situation has contributed to improved access to humanitarian activities, including decisions by some refugees and IDPs to spontaneously return to their areas."
RJMEC's latest progress report also urged parties to realize the major objectives of the pre-transitional period of the revitalized September 2018 peace agreement, which the signatories to South Sudan's peace agreement agreed on May 3 to extend the formation of the transitional government by six months following delays in the implementation of the pact over unresolved issues.
The latest negotiations among the South Sudanese factions came after the East African bloc, IGAD, summoned the parties to the 2018 peace deal in Addis Ababa to discuss modalities toward finding durable solutions on the backdrop of the approaching deadline for the six-month Pre-Transitional Period.
According to the Executive Secretary of IGAD Mahboub Maalim, the international community and the South Sudanese people have been waiting for the consultation in order to bring concrete solutions to expedite the peace process in the remaining three months.
"IGAD will give the necessary support as usual for the effectiveness of the process, both in diplomacy and finance," Maalim vowed.
The IGAD Executive Secretary also stressed that the security arrangement and the boundaries of the states "are still the sticking issues" amid the looming deadline of the extended pre-transitional period, which is set to elapse in November this year.
According to the Ethiopian Foreign Affairs Minister, Gedu Andargachew, the November 12 deadline "is non-extendable."
"Any further delay will have the risk of plunging South Sudan into another cycle of conflict and violence," Andargachew, who is also the current Chairman of IGAD's Council of Ministers, said.
"This is not in the best interest of the peace and stability of the country and indeed the region," the Ethiopian foreign minister stressed.
The disputing South Sudanese parties have been also urged to halt "sporadic clashes" so as to sustain recent security gains that have been witnessed as part of the permanent ceasefire.
Njoroge also urged South Sudan's disputing parties to immediately and completely demilitarize all the civilian centers, in line with the Pre-Transitional Period of the revitalized 2018 peace accord.
Noting that civilian centers occupied by some armed forces are "gradually being vacated," Njoroge also commended some armed factions for their efforts to demilitarize all the civilian centers.
He also called on "all forces to desist from any temptation of reoccupying any civilian property."
