15-05-2018, Addis Ababa (Ethiopia): Within the framework of the preparation for the High Level Revitilisation Forum (HLRF) led by the Intergovernmental Authority on Development, IGAD Director of Peace & Security Division, Ambassador Tewolde Gebremeskel, this morning in Addis Ababa opened a two-day seminar on Governance and Security Issues for stakeholders of the South Sudan crisis.
12-05-2018, Addis Ababa (Ethiopia): Building on its prior consultations and efforts to narrow the differences between the parties on the key outstanding Governance and Security issues, the IGAD Council of Ministers (CoM), assisted by the IGAD Special Envoy, has invited to Addis Ababa the Transitional Government of National Unity (TGoNU), the South Sudan Opposition Alliance (SSOA), and the Sudan Peoples’ Liberation Movement/Army-In Opposition (SPLM/A-IO) for Intensive Interlinked Consultations (IIC) in Addis Ababa on May 11, 12 and 13, 2018.
These ongoing consultations are also meant to discuss the outstanding issues identified at the end of the last session of the High Level Revitalisation Forum for South Sudan.
The IIC is an approach meant for a greater degree of candour and vigour than is normally possible in more formal settings, such as plenary. The IIC is not envisaged as an inter-party negotiation session; rather, it is an opportunity to explore potential compromise areas, and to deepen the Facilitation’s understanding of the positions and interests of each party
The Facilitation is engaging each party on its positions in relation to the outstanding issues in Security and Governance, while encouraging each party to consider the positions advanced by the other parties within the framework of the latest shuttle diplomacy.
In line with the conception of the IIC as a preparatory platform for the upcoming High Level Revitilisation Forum, the expected outcomes are:
(a) participating parties would (have had the opportunity to) review their positions to enhance the possibility of reaching agreement with the other parties and stakeholders to the upcoming HLRF on the outstanding issues;
(b) as appropriate, the participating parties would have engaged each other directly to explore potential areas of consensus;
(c) the Facilitation would have deepened its understanding of the parties’ interests and positions on the outstanding issues ahead of the HLRF; and
(d) the Facilitation would inform its judgement on the most effective processes.
ஜ۩END۩ஜ
03-05-2018, Addis Ababa (Ethiopia): On May 2, 2018, the IGAD Special Envoy to South Sudan, Amb Ismael Wais, signed a Development Engagement Document (DED) with Amb. Mette Thygesen of the Royal Danish Embassy in Addis Ababa. The DED provides for a contribution of DKK 14 million from Denmark to the operations of the IGAD-SSO (IGAD South Sudan Office)/CTSAMM (Ceasefire and Transitional Security Arrangements Monitoring Mechanism).
26-04-2018, Addis Ababa (Ethiopia): On 25th April 2018, the Office of the Chairperson of IGAD Council of Ministers met with IGAD Ambassadors in Addis Ababa and after deliberation and assessing the positions of the Parties decided to postpone the convening of Phase II of the High-level Revitalization Forum (HLRF) process for South Sudan.
The Office together with the Ambassadors group deliberated on the outcomes of the shuttle diplomacy meetings held with South Sudan Opposition Alliance (SSOA), South Sudan People Liberation Movement/Army – In Opposition (SPLM/A-IO), Civil Society Groups and other stakeholders and has agreed that there still exist wide gaps between the different groups that need to be narrowed.
It is based on this that the office of the Chairperson of IGAD Council of Ministers decided to postpone the next HLRF Phase II to allow continuation of shuttle diplomacy meetings with the Parties to the South Sudan conflict in order to have a meaningful outcome of the mediation.
The office of the Chairperson gave the dates of the next session of the HLRF: 17th May– 21st May of 2018.
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10th April 2018, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia: The IGAD Special Envoy for South Sudan, accompanied by representatives of the Office of the Chairperson of the IGAD Council of Ministers, held consultations on 10th April 2018 with representatives of the South Sudanese Civil Society Stakeholders to the HLRF to discuss key outstanding issues at the Forum, including positions of the various parties and possible compromises. The consultations are pursuant to the decisions of the IGAD Council of Ministers at its 61st Extra-Ordinary Session on South Sudan held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on 26 March 2018 to reconvene the continuation of Phase II of the High-Level Revitalization Forum (HLRF) to conduct consultations and undertake shuttle diplomacy with the parties and stakeholders to the HLRF to narrow the gaps between the Parties, prior to the next reconvening of the Forum.
