International peace partners are urging the Government of South Sudan to produce a clear and realistic workplan, timeline and budget to implement remaining critical tasks in the peace agreement ahead of the country’s first democratic elections.

Their call for urgent action came at the first substantial meeting of the Reconstituted Joint Monitoring and Evaluation Commission since the Government announced a further two-year extension of the transitional period and delayed elections.

Speaking on behalf of the Troika, the United Kingdom Ambassador to South Sudan, Guy Warrington expressed profound disappointment at the fresh extension and stressed the need for meaningful and urgent action in the coming weeks, rather than months.

“The basis for post-transitional government failure to achieve peace commitments and enduring key obstacles to progress is not a lack of time, it’s not a lack of funding, it remains a lack of political will to take the necessary decisions and compromises that are essential to break the perpetual cycle of transition and make meaningful progress towards creating conditions necessary for holding peaceful, transparent and inclusive elections,” he said.

The Head of the United Nations Mission in South Sudan, Nicholas Haysom, said a “clear, realistic and harmonized” workplan was needed to restore confidence among South Sudanese and the international community that political leaders are committed to implementing outstanding provisions of the peace deal.

He highlighted several benchmarks that could be achieved relatively quickly, including the deployment of unified forces, civic education, preparations for voter registration, developing a code of conduct between political parties, and enhancing the political and civic space.

While progress has been limited, Mr. Haysom said that UNMISS is pressing ahead with support to election preparations in support of the people of South Sudan.

“We have decided to charge ahead and are expanding our assistance to the National Elections Commission beyond technical discussions and capacity building, and we are exploring packages of support, that combine hardware, such as state electoral offices, and software, such as capacity-building and training initiatives. We also have a significant amount of in-house electoral, political and law enforcement expertise to dedicate in this area of our mandate, including as it relates to electoral security issues.”

Noting many appeals for the provision of up-front funding for electoral institutions and processes, peace partners said requests for international financing must be backed up by demonstrable proof that the country’s own resources are being prioritized to deliver the peace deal and elections.

“The European Union has been supporting the transition in South Sudan through our support to the RJMEC, electoral preparations, legal reforms, constitution making and to civil society dialogue,” said Ambassador of the European Union to South Sudan, Timo Olkkonen. “The extension means that the envisaged timelines for this support have also changed. Discussions need to be held, and conclusions drawn about what this will mean in practice for our continued engagement, also in financial terms. Demonstrations of seriousness and political would be helpful for these deliberations.”

The Government representative at the meeting said that further updates would be provided when the Minister of Cabinet Affairs returns from a tour of regional countries.

Meanwhile, civil society and youth representatives seized the opportunity to share their views on the impact of the stagnating political and peace processes.

“While we acknowledge the challenges that led to the extension of the transitional period, we can’t help but feel a sense of disappointment and frustration,” said youth representative, Florence Agiba. “Two years is indeed a long time for a generation that has grown up in conflict. It is another two years of uncertainty and another two years of delayed dreams.”