Council backtracks on peace deal changes

South Sudan’s Council of Ministers has backtracked on proposed changes to provisions on the supremacy of the 2018 peace agreement, following pressure from Western governments, reports Radio Tamazuj. Cabinet Affairs Minister Dr Martin Lomuro said they had reviewed amendments submitted to Parliament and decided to retain Articles 8.1, 8.2 and 8.3 of the Revitalised Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in South Sudan (R-ARCSS), which set out the agreement’s legal supremacy. He said the Cabinet agreed that amendments would instead be limited to Articles 1.2.5, 1.14 and 6.14 of the agreement to pave the way for general elections in December 2026. Article 8.1 states that the agreement is legally binding on all parties, replaced the 2015 peace agreement and required ratification by the Transitional National Legislature. Article 8.2 provides that the agreement shall be incorporated into the Transitional Constitution of South Sudan and that, in the event of a conflict, the provisions of the R-ARCSS prevail. Article 8.3 stipulates that the agreement takes precedence over national laws and any earlier agreements that are inconsistent with its provisions. Together, Articles 8.1, 8.2 and 8.3 establish the agreement as the supreme transitional legal framework during the transitional period. The decision followed US sanctions and pressure from 17 Western embassies and the European Union, which warned that unilateral changes to the 2018 peace agreement would undermine its legitimacy and jeopardise peace efforts in South Sudan.