The Archbishop of the Episcopal Church of South Sudan, Justin Badi Arama | Credit | Courtesy

Parties to High Level Revitalization Forum have recommitted to silence guns, according to the Archbishop of the Episcopal Church of South Sudan.

During the first phase of the IGAD-led talks held in December 2017, parties and stakeholders requested the church to mediate the intra-South Sudanese dialogue.

The appeal was renewed again during a technical workshop prior to the resumption of the continued 2nd phase of the forum.

As the South-South talks commenced on Thursday, a leadership committee and two sub-committees on governance and security were formed. These are part of the Chapter I and II of the peace agreement.

The committees are focusing on five areas in each chapter.

On governance, they include federalism, number of states, structure of the government, size and composition of the legislature and responsibility sharing allocation.

On Security, they are tackling unification of forces timeline, reform, demilitarization of civilians, cantonment of forces and protection of opposition political leaders.

Archbishop Justin Badi, who is heading the mediation team of the South Sudan Council of Churches, said “some progress has been made and the spirit is positive” since the beginning of the South-South talks.

However, he called on the parties to cease negativity:

“The South Sudan Council of Churches (SSCC) appeals to all to avoid negative statements and to strictly abide by the Agreement on the Cessation of Hostilities, Protection of Civilians and Humanitarian access.”

The continued phase II of the revitalization commenced on Thursday.

The talks will focus on Chapter I and Chapter II of the peace agreement which deals with governance and security.