A/HRC/40/CRP.1 Nevertheless, despite these skirmishes, as of January 2019, CTSAMVM was of the view that “the ceasefire is largely holding.”75 As noted above, under the CoHA, which was reaffirmed by the Permanent Ceasefire Agreement and Chapter II of the R-ARCSS, all Parties’ forces are to freeze in their existing locations, with the exception of certain necessary movements authorised by the CTSAMVM.76 A freezing of forces is an important first step for subsequent ceasefire processes, such as disengagement of forces. It is also an indicator of the willingness of parties to honour the cessation of hostilities. By mid-November 2018, CTSAMVM reported, with respect to Article 2.1.10.4 (regarding freezing of forces), that “[a]part from a few areas where tensions with occasional hostilities have been high, the Parties have demonstrated an overall effort to comply.”77 As well as removing the immediate threat to life, a ceasefire in the context of a negotiated political settlement can serve a longer-term purpose: in the case of South Sudan, it is a pre-requisite for the envisaged transition from the current situation of multiple antagonistic armed groups to a future where unified national forces under democratic control would guarantee security for all. In this regard, Chapter II of the R-ARCSS sets out the security-sector reforms that are necessary for this transition and establishes a number of new bodies to develop and manage the process. These are the Joint Defence Board (JDB), Joint Transitional Security Committee (JTSC), Joint Monitoring Ceasefire Commission (JMCC), Strategic Defence and Security Review Board (SDSRB), and Disarmament, Demobilisation and Reintegration Commission (DDRC).78 The security sector reform process consists of a number of sequential actions: cantonment, strategic review, unification and training or DDR, and finally deployment. Subsequent actions are dependent upon the successful completion of earlier actions, whilst all actions are reliant on the relevant managing body having been operationalized. Unfortunately, there has been a delay in the establishment of every single body79 and as a result, every single action is behind schedule.80 Cantonment is a particularly important element. As well as facilitating the start of the reform process, it underpins the ongoing ceasefire by requiring the disengagement, separation, and withdrawal of hostile forces, which are currently in close proximity to one another,81 with the potential to re-ignite hostilities. The importance of the cantonment process is illustrated by the experience of the 2015 ARCSS. The cantonment process that was supposed to be undertaken in the 2015 ARCSS82 was hampered by disagreement between the Government and the Opposition over where the 75 CTSAMVM, Technical Committee Meeting Minutes No. 7, 16-19 January 2019. See also CTSAMVM, Report (No 2) to R-JMEC Plenary, Juba, 12 December 2018. 76 Agreement on Cessation of Hostilities Protection of Civilians and Humanitarian Access, 12 December 2017, Article 1(2); Khartoum Declaration 27 June 2018, para. 1; R-ARCSS, Articles 2.1.2, 2.1.10.4. 77 CTSAMVM, Report (No.1) to RJMEC Plenary, Addis Ababa, 19 November 2018. See also CTSAMVM, Technical Committee Sixth Meeting Minutes, 18-19 December 2018 noting that “Implementation has generally been positive with the exception of deployments near Leer in November and December and Kawaji, approx. 12 km from Bunj town, on 08 Dec 18, by SPLM/A-IO forces.” 78 R-ARCSS, Articles 2.4, 2.5. 79 JDB should have been in place on 17 September 2018 (R-ARCSS Article 2.4.2) but was only established and held its first meeting on 26 November 2018. JMCC and JTSC should have been in place on 22 September 2018 (R-ARCSS Article 2.4.3, 2.4.4. respectively) but were only established on 30 November 2018. The SDSRB was already in existence, but was only reconstituted on 29 November 2018. The DDRC should have been reconstituted by 12 October 2018 but had still not been established as of mid-January 2019. See CTSAMVM, Report (No. 2) to RJMEC Meeting, 12 December 2018; update on current status from Confidential Meeting, Juba, 15 December 2018; National Democratic Movement (NDM), Mid-Term Evaluation of the Implementation of the Pre-Transition Activities of the R-ARCSS, 14 January 2019; R-JMEC, Resolutions of the 3rd R-JMEC Plenary, Juba, 23 January 2019. 80 Confidential Meeting, Juba, 15 December 2018. 81 R-ARCSS, Article 2.2.2. 82 ARCSSS, Chapter II, Article 2. 19