South Sudan's Parties Agree to Meet in Addis Ababa Next Week

President Kiir and Dr. Machar will meet in Addis Ababa in January 27-28 to make a serious effort to negotiate and agree the outstanding issues. The Chief Negotiators of both parties will meet a day earlier to formulate an agenda. The meeting is intended to provide opportunity for the Parties to reach an agreement on the major issues ahead of the IGAD Extraordinary Summit on South Sudan, which will take place on Thursday (January 29). It is to be recalled that the IGAD Extraordinary session of 7 November 2014 gave the Principals, President Salva Kiir and Dr. Riek Machar time to consult with their respective constituencies on critical issues and they conducted consultations in Juba and Pagak. Following these consultations, the Parties have announced their positions which show serious backtracking from past agreements and a widening gap between them on other critical issues. In another development, the African Union Commission of Inquiry Report will be presented to the Peace and Security Council at Summit level. The report should help to ensure peace and stability, and needs to be coordinated with the peace process to ensure viable processes for inclusivity, sustainability, justice and accountability.

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