Troika disappointed with Ceasefire Monitors over failure to hold regular meetings

By Benjamin Takpiny

The Troika countries have expressed disappointment with the Ceasefire Transitional Security Arrangements Monitoring & Verification Mechanism (CTSAMVM) over the failure to hold regular meetings.

Linken Nymann Berryman, the Norwegian Ambassador to South Sudan on Thursday while speaking on behalf of the Troika during Board Meeting of CTSAMVM, said that the Troika feels let down by the failure by CTSAMVM to hold regular board meetings, as directed by the Revitalized Agreement on the Resolution of Conflict in South Sudan (RARCSS).

Nymann thanked the leadership of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) and the chairs of the Reconstituted Joint Monitoring Evaluation Commission (RJMEC) and CTSAMVM in resolving these unnecessary and overly bureaucratic challenges.

She said that it is now exactly one year since the last regular CTSAMVM Board Meeting took place, and over 6 months since the last extra-ordinary board meeting occurred in July 2023.

“There are now 9 outstanding reports awaiting submission to RJMEC finally being presented here today. Four of these reports detail evidence of barbaric acts conducted by SSPDF soldiers, including: looting, opening fire on civilians, and committing crimes of sexual and gender-based violence,” Nymann said.

 She noted that since the signing of the R-ARCSS about 24 percent of all reports submitted by CTSAMVM are either exclusively or include sexual gender based violence (SGBV) violations.

“This number not only underscores the persistent challenge of SGBV, but also how vital it is that CTSAMVM keeps investigating and reporting credible allegations. We call on the transitional government to fully investigate these reports and hold perpetrators to account for these horrific acts,” Nymann said.

Nymann said that the support of the U.S, United Kingdom and Norway to the South Sudanese people is based on their conviction that the South Sudanese people deserve peace, human rights, democracy, and a government that is accountable to them and responsive to their needs. “A prerequisite for such a government is a professional security sector under a unified command structure. As the body monitoring and verifying the Ceasefire and the Transitional Security Arrangements, CTSAMVM is integral to reform of the security sector, which also explains our countries’ support to ensure it operates effectively in line with its mandate,” she disclosed