NAS outlines issues discussed at the Rome Talks
The National Salvation Front (NAS) has issued a public statement outlining the issues discussed and the outcome of the third round of talks of the Rome Peace Process that ended October 12 without a final agreement.
The talks between the South Sudan Opposition Movements Alliance (SSOMA) and the Revitalized Transitional Government of National Unity (R-TGoNU) took place from 9th to 12th October 2020 in Rome, Italy, under the auspices of the Sant’Egidio Community.
According to the statement issued by Suba Samuel, NAS Spokesperson, the parties deliberated on the Cessation of Hostilities Agreement (CoHA) and the Declaration of Principles (DoP).
On the CoHA, the statement noted that “the position of SSOMA was that the CoHA cannot be open-ended as it was to provide a conducive environment for political negotiations to address the root causes of the conflict in the country.
NAS and its allies will only sign the Recommitment to CoHA together with an agreed Declaration of Principles (DoP)
“The participation of SSOMA in CTSAMVM as a CoHA monitoring and verification mechanism will be for three months subject to renewal. During the three months Sant’Egidio, as the mediation body, will monitor the political commitment of the parties to the adherence to CoHA and SSOMA will only sign any recommitment to CoHA if there is an agreement on the Declaration of Principles which paves way for negotiations on the root causes of the conflict in the country.”
On the Declaration of Principles (DoP), the statement also noted that “the parties agreed to come up with a declaration of principles which will form the basis of the political negotiations.” However, the two sides were unable to agree on all the points of the DoP.
Although a final agreement was not reached on both the issues, the two sides initialed a recommitment to the CoHA that is subject to renewal after three months from SSOMA’s joining of CTSAMVM.
“NAS and its allies will only sign the Recommitment to CoHA together with an agreed Declaration of Principles (DoP).”
The two sides also initialed on some of the points agreed in the DoP – the points that were not agreed upon will be discussed in the next round of talks scheduled to resume in Rome on November 30 2020.
The statement ended by reassuring NAS members and the people of South Sudan that “the National Salvation Front (NAS) is committed to addressing the root causes of the conflict in South Sudan to achieve a just and sustainable peace.”
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[…] year talks in Rome SSOMA and the Revitalized Transitional Government of National Unity (R-TGoNU) agreed to come up with a DoP that would form the basis of the political negotiations. However, the two sides were unable to agree on all the points of the […]