25 August 2014 - UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon had taken note of today’s signing of an implementation matrix for the 23 January 2014 Cessation of Hostilities Agreement, his spokesperson said in New York today.

“The Secretary-General welcomes the holding today of the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD) Heads of State Summit on South Sudan,” said the statement. “(He) takes note of the signing of… the matrix by the South Sudanese government and the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement in Opposition.”

Mr. Ban called on both parties to immediately implement the agreement and uphold their commitment to establishing a Transitional Government of National Unity.

He also commended the IGAD Heads of States and their Special Envoys for their tireless efforts to find a peaceful resolution to the crisis in South Sudan.

The Secretary-General reiterated the full support of the United Nations to this process, the statement added.

Chaired by Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemarriam Dessalegn, the IGAD Assembly of Heads of State and Government held its 27th Extra-Ordinary Summit in Addis Ababa today to discuss the situation in South Sudan.

According to a final communique from IGAD, the summit welcomed the conclusion and signature by the warring parties of the Implementation Matrix of the Cessation of Hostilities Agreement.

“(The summit) endorses the Protocol on agreed principles on transitional arrangements towards resolution of the crisis in South Sudan which will lead to a new negotiated political dispensation in South Sudan and calls on the SPLM/A-10 to sign the Protocol,” the communique said.

Members at the summit also called the stakeholders to conclude negotiation of the details necessary to fully operationalize the Agreed Principles on Transitional Arrangements Towards Resolution of the Crisis in South Sudan within six weeks, the communique added.

IGAD members underscored their resolve to take action against those who obstruct the attainment of peace in South Sudan.

They assured the South Sudanese people that such individuals or actors will be held responsible for their actions, and be denied participation in the future governance arrangements of the country.