JUBA, Sept. 21 (Xinhua) -- South Sudan's peace monitors on Friday urged warring parties to fully comply with a peace agreement signed recently so as to build trust and confidence.
Thomson Fontaine, deputy chief of staff of the Joint Monitoring and Evaluation Commission (JMEC), said full compliance by the signatories to the peace agreement, signed last week in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, will help build confidence and aid economic recovery after over four years of conflict.
"Full compliance to the agreement is very critical to build confidence and provide an enabling environment for the much-needed focus on the growth of the economy among other things," he said in a statement issued in Juba.
He expressed confidence that the compromises taken by both parties were in good faith and that the parties will work together moving forward.
President Salva Kiir and Riek Machar, leader of the Sudan People's Liberation Army-in-opposition (SPLA-IO), agreed to the final peace deal mediated by Sudanese President Omar Al-Bashir under the auspices of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), an east African bloc.
Fontaine appealed to the people of South Sudan to embrace working together for the good of the country.
"As we celebrate the International Day of Peace, may we all embrace the spirit of togetherness and agree that there are no beneficiaries to the conflict," he said.
He said millions of people are living in refugee camps in neighboring countries and that the world is watching with eagerness as to whether the sides will honor their commitment to the implementation of the peace agreement this time around.
"The people of South Sudan are watching; the mothers and children who are tired of the suffering are watching; the young people without jobs and struggling to make a living are watching," he said. "Everyone is watching!"
"We must not let the gains of the last 15 months go to waste. We must ensure that we allow the children and youth in the country to enjoy the benefits of peace and prosper in the country, celebrating unity in diversity," he added.
Fontaine said the JMEC will continue to fully discharge its mandate to vigorously monitor and evaluate the implementation of the revitalized agreement.
South Sudan descended into civil war in late 2013, and the conflict has created one of the fastest growing refugee crises in the world.
The UN estimates that about 4 million South Sudanese have been displaced internally and externally.
The world's youngest nation has for the third year running been ranked as the deadliest for aid workers to operate.
