The Reconstituted Joint Monitoring and Evaluation Commission (RJMEC) has warned that South Sudan could slide back into widespread instability unless urgent steps are taken to revive the peace process and fully restore the Permanent Ceasefire.
In its latest Quarterly Report released on Thursday, RJMEC said the implementation of the Revitalized Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in the Republic of South Sudan (R-ARCSS) has reached a critical stage, with the country’s security situation sharply deteriorating in the final quarter of 2025.
The report, which covers the period from October to December 2025 and was prepared in accordance with Article 7.9 of the peace agreement, documented armed clashes in at least six states. RJMEC said the violence constituted serious violations of the Permanent Ceasefire and raised concerns that the agreement could unravel if corrective measures are not taken.
“The current trajectory of the peace process calls into serious question the commitment of the Parties to implement the R-ARCSS and deliver the elections as scheduled,” the report stated.
The warning comes amid renewed violence in parts of Jonglei State, where recent clashes involving South Sudan People Defense Forces (SSPDF) and Sudan People Liberation Army in Opposition (SPLA-AO) have led to displacement, civilian casualties, and the disruption of humanitarian operations.
Jonglei has remained one of the country’s most volatile regions, with cycles of intercommunal conflict, political tensions, and the presence of armed youth continuing to undermine local stability and access to basic services.
RJMEC attributed the overall deterioration in the country’s situation to a combination of renewed conflict and displacement, worsening food insecurity, flooding and climate shocks, disease outbreaks, economic challenges, and spillover effects from the ongoing conflict in neighboring Sudan.
By the end of 2025, the commission reported that more than 10 million people—nearly two-thirds of South Sudan’s population—required humanitarian assistance. However, severe funding shortfalls meant that only 42 per cent of the US$1.7 billion Humanitarian Response Plan had been funded.
RJMEC Chairperson, H.E. Amb. Maj. Gen. George Aggrey Owinow (rtd), is expected to formally present the full report on the status of the peace agreement’s implementation for the period under review.
