All-Nominees Preparatory Meeting for the Workshop on the Permanent Constitution-Making Process in South Sudan

The Foundation conducts final preparatory meeting on constitutional process design

From 4 to 6 May 2021, the Max Planck Foundation, in cooperation with the Reconstituted Joint Monitoring and Evaluation Commission (RJMEC), conducted a three-day meeting with representatives of stakeholders and parties to the Revitalised Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in South Sudan (R-ARCSS). It was funded by the German Federal Foreign Office and was organised in preparation for the Workshop on the Permanent Constitution-Making Process required by Article 6.7. of the R-ARCSS.

The meeting was opened by the Interim Chairperson of RJMEC, HE Maj. Gen. Charles Tai Gituai, and, after introductory remarks, the Foundation staff who were present in Juba, a series of four substantive sessions were conducted over the course of the three days.

These sessions were structured with the aim to foster discussions between the different groups of representatives. Participants were organised into mixed discussion tables and encouraged to engage with the questions raised in the spirit of compromise. This approach succeeded in cultivating a participatory atmosphere and spirit of negotiation, with participants coming together at the end of each session to present their conclusions to the plenary.

At the closing ceremony, speeches were given by the Honourable Minister for Justice and Constitutional Affairs, Justice Ruben Madol Arol, and the Honourable Undersecretary Gabriel Isaac Awow, in addition to RJMEC and Foundation representatives. All speakers expressed their pleasure in the positive atmosphere at the meeting.

Following the successful conclusion of this All-Nominees Meeting, the Workshop to agree on the Permanent Constitution-Making Process in South Sudan will take place in Juba from 25 to 27 May 2021.