Dissolution of Parliament arrives as part of South Sudan process
On Saturday night the South Sudanese Parliament was dissolved as described in the Peace Agreement of September 2018. The agreement stems from the need to end the civil war. This was also the objective of the 2015 Peace Agreement that failed, because, among other issues, President Kiir objected to certain clauses of the agreement, such as the acceptance of the number of states that will form the Republic of Sudan.
Following the Peace Agreement, the interim government was to last 36 months, and elections were to be held in February 2020. Elections were to be held at least 60 days before the end of the transitional period, which has not yet happened. In addition, the agreement provides for the creation of a ceasefire verification commission, the establishment of a joint accountability court and a truth, reconciliation and reparations commission.
It also provides for the demilitarisation of civilian centres, schools and religious temples, as well as the surrender of weapons by the army and the rebels. The pact also provides for the creation of a Joint Defence Council, composed of military leaders from both sides and overseen by a committee composed of Sudan and Uganda, the latter as mediator during the negotiations. Some points of the agreement are vague, such as the conditions for the unification of forces that were enemies during the civil war into a single national army.
Have these points been met? Since the formation of the Revitalised Transitional Government of National Unity in February 2020, implementation of the 2018 Peace Agreement has largely stalled, with signatories failing to meet the timelines set out in the pact and backtracking on aspects of its political, security and economic provisions. Accountability measures, including the Hybrid Court for South Sudan, have not been implemented, while the South Sudan People's Defence Forces (SSPDF) and the Sudan People's Liberation Army in Opposition (SPLA-IO) have continued to commit serious human rights violations against civilians. In addition, both the SSPDF and the SPLA-IO have violated the Agreement on Cessation of Hostilities, Protection of Civilians and Humanitarian Access.
The delay in dissolving parliament has had a number of consequences for civil society in a context of famine and conflict. One example was the inability to vote on the budget for the fiscal year 2020-2021, as well as the enactment of several laws. According to the agreement, the new national assembly will grow from 400 to 550 legislators, of whom 332 will be appointed by President Salva Kiir, 128 by Vice-President Riek Machar and 90 by the other signatory parties. The Council of States (upper house) will increase from 50 to 100 members.
The dissolution of parliament marks the end of the transitional period of government after the civil war, but peace has not yet been achieved throughout the country. According to the UN, violence at the national level has decreased but inter-communal conflicts have increased in some states of the young country. This violence has been aggravated by drought, floods and locust invasions, resulting in increased famine and misery for citizens.
In the face of possible future escalation of violence, a UN report calls for the maintenance of the arms embargo that expires on 31 May this year and new sanctions against those who oppose the implementation of the peace agreement and obstruct the delivery of humanitarian aid. In February last year, more than 55% of the population, mainly women and children, were facing food shortages due to the deliberate policy of preventing humanitarian aid from reaching civilians by different parties to the conflict. This problem is still unresolved, an example of which is the interception by Sudanese officials of food aid sent by the president to Bor on 1 April this year.
Another difficulty facing the nation is that there is no alternative to the current government. Both Kiir and Machar are former rebels who fought for Sudan's independence in 2011, but also contributed to the rise of ethnic and political tensions that led to the 2013 civil war. The Dinka ethnic group remains loyal to Kiir, while the Nuer tribe is a supporter of Vice President Machar. The achievement of peace would allow the emergence of new political representatives from outside the war, which would allow ethnic tensions to be put behind them.