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📄 APA-0002 Superseded

Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in the Republic of South Sudan (ARCSS)

Also known as: ARCSS

Country
South Sudan
Region
East Africa
Date signed
17 August 2015
Type
Comprehensive Peace Agreement
Mediator(s)
IGAD-PLUS

The first comprehensive settlement of the South Sudanese civil war, establishing a Transitional Government of National Unity; it collapsed in July 2016 and was later revitalized as the R-ARCSS.

Conflict Background

Negotiated over twenty months under IGAD-PLUS pressure, the ARCSS was signed reluctantly — President Kiir appended written reservations — and implemented in a climate of deep mistrust.

Negotiation Context

Contested cantonment arrangements in Juba placed rival forces in close proximity without integrated command, a design flaw widely credited with enabling the July 2016 collapse.

Parties

  • Government of South Sudan
  • SPLM/A-In Opposition
  • Former Detainees
  • Other stakeholders

Mediators & Guarantors

Mediators
  • · IGAD-PLUS
Guarantors
  • · African Union
  • · United Nations
  • · Troika
  • · China
  • · IGAD states

Key Provisions

Transitional Government of National Unity with a First Vice-President from the opposition
Permanent ceasefire and transitional security arrangements
Demilitarisation of Juba with limited-force provisions
Hybrid Court and transitional justice architecture (mirrored later in R-ARCSS Chapter V)

Implementation

Superseded by the R-ARCSS of 12 September 2018; of continuing analytical value as a study in security-arrangement design failure.

Timeline

  1. 2015-08-17
    Signed in Juba following Addis Ababa negotiations
  2. 2016-04-26
    Machar returns to Juba; TGoNU formed
  3. 2016-07-08
    J1 Palace fighting erupts; Machar flees; agreement collapses
  4. 2017-12
    High-Level Revitalization Forum convened
  5. 2018-09-12
    Superseded by the R-ARCSS

Challenges

  • Signature under duress with formal reservations from the incumbent
  • Two armies in one capital without unified command
  • No credible enforcement response when violations began

Outcomes

  • Created the template — power-sharing ratios, security chapters, Chapter V justice architecture — on which the R-ARCSS was built
  • Briefly reunified the transitional government in 2016

Lessons

  • Sequencing matters: political cohabitation before security integration invites relapse
  • Reservations at signature are a leading indicator of implementation failure

Related CRCA Resources

References

  • IGAD (2015). Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in the Republic of South Sudan.
  • Johnson, D. (2016). South Sudan: A New History for a New Nation.