Pressure has mounted on South Sudan’s transitional government led by President Salva Kiir Mayardit after 17 foreign embassies and the European Union warned that unilateral changes to the 2018 peace agreement threatened the government’s legitimacy and risked undermining peace.
In a joint statement issued on Tuesday, the embassies of Australia, Canada, Cyprus, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Japan, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Slovenia, Sweden, Switzerland, Britain and the United States, together with the EU delegation, called for an “immediate return to dialogue” among all parties.
“The Peace Agreement remains the basis of legitimacy for the transitional government in South Sudan,” the statement said.
“Unilateral changes to the Agreement are not in accordance with the letter and spirit of the Agreement and will not bring peace to South Sudan.”
The diplomatic missions stressed that dialogue and full implementation of the 2018 revitalized peace agreement are essential to maintaining stability in the world’s youngest nation.
The strong and unusually broad statement comes amid rising international concern over moves by factions within the government to amend the peace deal ahead of planned elections in December 2026.
Kiir’s camp on May 11 tabled controversial amendments in parliament, triggering a boycott by opposition lawmakers who said the process violated the peace agreement.
One key proposal seeks to repeal provisions that give the 2018 agreement supremacy over national laws and the transitional constitution.
The opposition SPLM-IO faction, led by detained First Vice President Riek Machar, rejected the process, saying it was neither consulted nor involved.
The Reconstituted Joint Monitoring and Evaluation Commission (RJMEC) has also warned that such amendments require consensus from all signatories.
Machar has been detained since March 2025 and faces treason charges.
The international community has repeatedly urged Kiir’s government to release Machar, resume dialogue, and fully implement the peace agreement to enable credible elections.
