A section of the South Sudan Opposition Movements Alliance has agreed to present a list of nominees to the ceasefire monitoring body, CTSAM-VM.
Dr. Barnaba Marial Benjamin, the Minister for Presidential Affairs and the government negotiator to the Rome talks said they have agreed in the Italian capital, Rome following the resumption of talks this week.
Also known as SSOMA, the group includes parties that did not sign the revitalized peace agreement in 2018.
They are Gen. Paul Malong’s South Sudan United Front and Pagan Amum’s Real SPLM.
Gen. Thomas Cirillo who leads the National Salvation Front is however not part of this latest talks, having earlier declined to participate in the Naivasha talks in March.
“We have agreed on the resolution on the implementation of Rome Resolution and the Naivasha Declaration of re-commitment in which SSOMA will provide its appointees to join the CTSAM-VM and in that, we agreed to ensure the full implementation of the Rome Resolution of 13th February 2020 as well as the Naivasha Declaration of re-commitment of 8th March 2021,” Dr. Marial told the press on Friday.
“SSOMA shall provide to CTSAM-VM the details of SSOMA personnel that shall serve as contact persons for establishing a channel of communication with CTSAM-VM until SSOMA is fully integrated into the process.”
The incorporation of the SSOMA into the security monitoring body will help monitor incidents of ceasefire violations, according to the Minister for Presidential Affairs.
The parties are currently discussing the political issues which include the root causes of the conflicts, according to SSOMA.
In November last year, the South Sudan Opposition Movements Alliance agreed to be incorporated into the ceasefire monitoring body.
This was after a technical workshop was convened by the Community of Saint’Egidio and facilitated by the CTSAM-VM Secretariat, the Reconstituted Joint Monitoring and Evaluation Commission and the Intergovernmental Authority on Development.
The Sant’Egidio Catholic community-based in Rome initiated the mediation between the government and the South Sudan Opposition Alliance or SSOMA in November 2019.
The mediation is aimed at supporting an inclusive peace agreement in South Sudan by persuading the holdout groups to join the revitalized peace deal signed in September 2018.