Nicholas Haysom, Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General and Head of the UN Mission in South Sudan, briefs the Security Council meeting on the situations in the Sudan and South Sudan. (Photo: Rick Bajornas/UN).

The Special Representative of UN Secretary General said South Sudanese leaders must find compromises and take the decisive steps required to implement critical benchmarks in the 2018 peace deal to ensure the country peacefully transition to democracy in 2026.

Addressing the UN Security Council meeting on Thursday, Nicholas Haysom said the transitional government, after securing a two-year mandate, has cast aside implementation of the 2018 peace deal amid competing political interests.

“Since the extension, however, implementation of the Revitalised Agreement and its Roadmap has, yet again, been relegated to the back burner while political interests play out at the national level,” Haysom said.

The head of UNMISS also noted that the Kenya-led peace talks to bring holdout opposition groups on board has largely stalled although there ongoing efforts to reconvene this mediation.

The peacekeeping official said the country’s fourth extension of the transitional period should be immediately met with strong political will to implement the pending reform provisions, or otherwise “we may find ourselves in the same predicament in December 2026.”

Mr. Haysom said the situation cannot be business as usual for the peace parties and political elites, as wells as the guarantors of the peace agreement and the international community.

“We must collectively take this opportunity to make this extension the last and deliver the peace and democracy that the people of South Sudan deserve.”

“Compromises are required to make the electoral maths add up. Small actions are not enough. Decisions, actions, realism and benchmarks associated with an implementation plan are needed. Concessions on what is feasible within the timeline are required.”

Mr. Haysom called for swift deployment of necessary unified forces (NUF), beginning of the second phase of security arrangement, launch of civic education, preparation for voter registration, and amending the draconian National Security Services Bill to expand civic and political space.

Other tasks include drafting of a code of conduct between political parties, civil society and the media, and clarifying responsibility-sharing for electoral security, and reconvention of the Joint Task force on Constitution-Making and Elections.

While acknowledging the challenges of keeping the focus on South Sudan at a time of competing global crises, Hayom urged the international community to campaign for the implementation of the outlined tasks.

In October, Haysom made a similar warning that the unity government has not demonstrated urgency in adopting a realistic workplan for implementing outstanding tasks in the 2018 peace agreement after extending the transitional period for two years.

Addressing the 8^th RJMEC Plenary Meeting in Juba, the UNMISS chief encouraged the peace parties to employ a sense of urgency in delivering their promises to the South Sudanese people produce a clear, realistic, harmonized workplan.