A/HRC/40/CRP.1 By January 2019, mid-way through the Pre-Transition period, the IBC had not been established because, while the national members had been nominated, the international members had not.927 This, despite R-JMEC reporting in November 2018, that IGAD was expected to secure the services of experts to begin work on the IBC and TBC “in the coming weeks”.928 The TBC held its inaugural meeting in Juba on 6 December 2018 to discuss the terms of reference and Rules of procedure of the TBC and started its work in January 2019.929 R-JMEC indicated after the first meeting in December that the TBC would have the full two months to complete its work, running from the date of its initial meeting.930 In spite of the importance of resolving this divisive issue in an inclusive manner, a survey conducted in October and November 2018 by the South Sudan Civil Society Forum of 1,147 respondents found that more than a third of respondents did not know that the RARCSS addressed the issue of the number of states.931 Furthermore, some of those with whom the Commission spoke expressed a lack of confidence that the IBC process would be respected.932 To address these issues, both in respect of the states issue and the R-ARCSS more broadly, dissemination of the R-ARCSS is one of the key activities to be undertaken during the Pre-Transitional period and is the responsibility of all Parties.933 Pursuant to this, the National Pre-Transitional Committee has established a Dissemination and Advocacy unit.934 Civil society, community leaders, media, R-JMEC, CTSAMVM, UNMISS and international actors have also been engaging in dissemination activities at many levels both within South Sudan and in the refugee camps.935 For example, the Community Empowerment for Progress Organization (CEPO) reported in November 2018 that 25 workshops disseminating the R-ARCSS had been conducted for 1,600 civilians and security forces in South Sudan.936 However, this lack of awareness of and confidence in the process for determining the number of states highlights a challenge for the chosen mechanism as the issue of how to define the country’s internal boundaries has a very real impact for communities and, therefore, for any outcome to be acceptable, the process to reach the consensus will need to have been transparent and consultative. The determination of the number and boundary of states is not only a technical issue but an intensely political one, in which communities are highly invested.937 With a mere three months to complete its work, the Independent Boundary Commission faces a challenge to ensure that it genuinely engages with affected communities and takes on board their concerns. Although there are explicit no provisions requiring consultation or inclusion, because of the nature of the mandate, both the TBC and the IBC have an obligation to elicit and taken into account the views and concerns of affected 927 R-JMEC, Progress Report No. 3: on the Implementation Status of the R-ARCSS 2018, 5 November 2018. See also Eye Radio, SPLM-IO rep calls for establishment of Boundaries Commission. 13 November 2018; R-JMEC, Resolutions of the 3rd R-JMEC Plenary, Juba, 23 January 2019. 928 R-JMEC, Progress Report No. 3: on the Implementation Status of the R-ARCSS 2018, 5 November 2018. See also Eye Radio, SPLM-IO rep calls for establishment of Boundaries Commission. 13 November 2018. 929 R-JMEC, The Technical Boundaries Committee (TBC) has on Thursday held its inaugural meeting in the South Sudan capital, Juba, 6 December 2018; R-JMEC, Progress Report No. 4: on the Status of Implementation of the R-ARCSS, 10 December 2018; R-JMEC, Resolutions of the 3rd R-JMEC Plenary, Juba, 23 January 2019. 930 R-JMEC, The Technical Boundaries Committee (TBC) has on Thursday held its inaugural meeting in the South Sudan capital, Juba, 6 December 2018. 931 South Sudan Civil Society Forum, “Revitalizing Peace in South Sudan: Citizen Perceptions of the Peace Process”, November 2018. 932 Confidential Meeting, Kampala, 18 December 2018; Confidential Meeting, Kampala, 19 December 2018. 933 R-ARCSS, Articles 1.4.3.1, 2.1.3. 934 CEPO, “Oversight observation report on the Revitalized Agreement on Resolution of the Conflict in South Sudan”, 30 November 2018. 935 See e.g., Confidential Meeting, Kiryandongo, 17 December 2018; Confidential Meeting, Kampala, 18 December 2018; UNHCR and Sudan Commission of Refugees, Summary Conclusions on the Dissemination of the Revitalized Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in the Republic of South Sudan (R-ARCSS) for Refugees, 4 September 2018; UNMISS, Bentiu residents pledge to disseminate the revitalised peace agreement, 1 October 2018; UNMISS, SSBC journalists vow to disseminate peace agreement and 'expose spoilers of peace to the public’, 22 November 2018; Sudan Tribune, “SPLA-IO disseminates peace agreement among fighters in S. Sudan’s Bieh”, 4 October 2018; Radio Tamazuj, “South Sudan civil society groups preach peace in Uganda”, 21 January 2019. 936 CEPO, “Oversight observation report on the Revitalized Agreement on Resolution of the Conflict in South Sudan”, 30 November 2018. 937 Douglas Johnson et al., “After the Khartoum Agreement: Boundary Making and the 32 States in South Sudan”, Rift Valley Institute, October 2018. 122