A/HRC/40/CRP.1 as the Commander-in-Chief of the SPLA-IO forces also issued a press statement declaring a permanent ceasefire.24 This Permanent Ceasefire has since been reportedly violated by the parties including in Unity, Western and Central Equatoria, and Western Bahr el Ghazal States.25 4. Agreements on Security Arrangements and Governance, July and August 2018 Mid-July 2018 saw a number of initiatives by the Government which were criticised as being counter-productive to the peace process, including Parliament passing a bill extending the tenure of the executive and legislative arms of the national and state governments until 12 August 2021 and the dismissal of the Minister of Foreign Affairs Deng Alor Kwol, and his replacement with Senior Advisor and Presidential Envoy Nhial Deng Nhial, despite the post being allocated under the ARCSS to SPLM “Former Detainees”. 26 Nevertheless around the same period, an Agreement on Outstanding Issues of Security Arrangements was reached on 6 July 2018 and an Agreement on Outstanding Issues of Governance was reached on 5 August 2018. The 5 August Agreement was signed by the Transitional Government, the SPLM/AIO, the SSOA, the Former Detainees and other political parties. However, within two days of the agreement, two of the groups under the umbrella of the SSOA, the National Salvation Front (NAS) and the People’s Democratic Movement (PDM), denied signing the Agreement and the SSOA accused the Sudanese security services of intimidating some opposition representatives in Khartoum and ordering them to sign the governance agreement on behalf of their groups.27 The parties continued negotiating in Khartoum through August 2018, harmonizing the remaining aspects of the 2015 ARCSS. The final agreement was set to be initialled on 28 August 2018, however, the SPLM/A-IO and the SSOA issued a statement on that day stating that they would not sign in light of unaddressed concerns regarding: decision making mechanisms and quorums in the TGoNU, the Independent Boundary Committee, and state and local governments; the proposed procedures for permanent Constitution making; mechanisms for the guarantors of the Agreement, Sudan and Uganda to contribute to the transitional security arrangements; and the inclusion of mediation text relating to the number and boundaries of states.28 However, on 31 August 2018, the SPLA-IO (RM) and the SSOA issued another statement, reiterating their concerns but indicating that they had decided to sign.29 As noted below, however, some members of the SSOA ultimately declined to sign. D. Revitalized Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in the Republic of South Sudan On 12 September 2018, parties including the TGoNU, SPLM/A-IO, SSOA, SPLMFormer Detainees and other political parties signed the Revitalized Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in the Republic of South Sudan (R-ARCSS) with the Presidents of Sudan and Uganda signing as co-guarantors. The new Agreement repeals and replaces the 17/2018 for the Implementation of the Provisions of the Permanent Ceasefire and Transitional Security Arrangements of the Revitalized Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in the Republic of South Sudan (R-ARCSS) (12 September 2018), 26 September 2018. 24 JMEC, Report by H.E. Festus Gontebanye Mogae, Chairperson of JMEC on the Status of Implementation of the Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in the Republic of South Sudan for the Period April 1st - June 30th 2018. 25 CTSAMVM, Technical Committee Meeting Minutes, No. 2, 10 October 2018; CTSAMVM, Technical Committee Meeting Minutes, No. 3, 24 October 2018; CTSAMVM, Technical Committee Meeting Minutes, No. 4, 7-8 November 2018; CTSAMVM, Technical Committee Meeting Minutes, No. 5, 27-28 November 2018; CTSAMVM, Technical Committee Meeting Minutes, No. 6, 18-18 November 2018. 26 United Nations Security Council, Report of the Secretary-General on South Sudan (covering the period from 4 June to 1 September 2018), S/2018/831, 11 September 2018. 27 Radio Tamazuj, “Cirillo says he did not sign peace deal in Khartoum, 7 August 2018; Sudan Tribune, Opposition alliance accuses Khartoum of intimidating its faction to sign South Sudan deal”, 5 August 2018; Sudan Tribune, “Opposition PDM says not part of South Sudan governance deal”, 6 August 2018. 28 Joint Press Statement by SPLM/SPLA-IO and SSOA, 28 August 2018. 29 Joint Press Statement by SPLM/SPLA (IO) and SSOA, 31 August 2018. 14