The opening of the Phase Two Joint Stakeholders and R-ARCSS Signatory Parties Dialogue was aborted on its first day after the incumbent SPLM-IG government failed to appear, effectively halting the planned discussions.
Participants gathered at the venue, including civil society groups, women mediators, and representatives of several signatory parties to the 2018 Revitalized Peace Agreement. However, the absence of the ruling party made it impossible to formally launch the dialogue.
Addressing attendees, Edmund Yakani, a leading civil society representative, said the government communicated that it was unwilling to participate unless the dialogue agenda was reviewed. He explained that SPLM-IG maintains that resolutions reached by the expanded presidency are final and should not be debated in the forum.
Yakani underscored that the purpose of the dialogue is to create a nonviolent space for South Sudanese to address political differences, noting that dialogue, rather than force, is essential for sustainable peace and state-building.
He added that organizers chose not to label the situation as a deadlock, but rather a temporary challenge requiring further consultations to safeguard the integrity and credibility of the process.
The organizers said engagements with all stakeholders would continue in an effort to restart the dialogue once common ground is reached.
