The Peace and Security Council (PSC) of the African Union (AU), at its 616 th meeting, held on 11 August 2016, adopted the following decision on the situation in South Sudan:

Council,

1. Takes note of the briefing provided by the AU Commission and the statements made by the representatives of South Sudan and Ethiopia in its capacity as the Chair of InterGovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD);

2. Recalls its previous communiqués and press statements on the situation in South Sudan, in particular, Communiqué adopted at its 611th meeting held on 11 July 2016, in Kigali, Rwanda, as well as the decision of the 27th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of the Union on the situation in South Sudan also held in Kigali, Rwanda on 18 July 2016;

3. Once again, expresses serious concern over the outbreak of fighting that took place on 7 July 2016 in Juba, resulting in loss of lives, dire humanitarian crisis and other tragic consequences on civilians and strongly condemns human rights violations, including sexual violence against women and girls. Council calls for necessary investigations to be carried out, in order to bring the perpetrators to justice.

4. Commends the IGAD Plus for its continued leadership and unwavering commitment to the search for a sustainable resolution to the crisis in South Sudan. In this context, Council, welcomes the convening, on 5 August 2016, in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, of the Second Extraordinary Summit of IGAD Plus on the situation in South Sudan and endorses the decisions contained in its communiqué, in particular,

i. the call for an urgent in-depth independent investigation by the AU on the fighting that took place in Juba and to identify those responsible with a view of ensuring that they are held accountable for their criminal acts;

ii. the request to the AU Commission, in consultation with the United Nations (UN), and building on existing regional and continental capabilities, to look into the best mechanisms for timely and effective action to address large scale mass atrocities in line with the relevant provisions of the Constitutive Act of the AU, the Protocol Establishing the Peace and Security Council of the African Union, and Chapter VIII of the UN Charter;

iii. the call for the UN Security Council (UNSC) to extend the Mission of UNMISS with a revised mandate including the deployment of the Regional Protection Force;

iv. the acceptance, in principle, by the Government of the Republic of South Sudan of the deployment of the Regional Protection Force; and v. the decision encouraging Dr. Riek Machar to re-join the peace process and the commitment by General Taban Deng Gai to step down upon the return of Dr Machar with a view to returning to the status quo ante in line with the Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in the Republic of South Sudan (ARCSS);

5. Requests IGAD to provide an update to the PSC meeting scheduled to take place on 18 August 2016, on the outcomes of the meeting of the Regional Chiefs of Defence Staff, which is scheduled to take place on Friday, 12 August 2016 in Addis Ababa;

6. Commends the sterling efforts, in very challenging circumstances, of the AU High Representative for South Sudan, former President Alpha Oumar Konare and the Chairman of the Joint Monitoring and Evaluation Commission (JMEC), former President Festus Mogae and continues to encourage them to persevere in their work in support of the peace efforts in South Sudan;

7. Once again calls upon the parties to the ARCSS to embrace mutual trust, put the interest of their country and its people above everything else and to scrupulously implement the Peace Agreement;

8. Decides to dedicate a meeting, every month, on the situation in South Sudan with a view to monitoring progress on the implementation of the ARCSS and calls upon the AU Commission to remain fully engaged in consultations on the modalities for the deployment of the Regional Protection Force in South Sudan;

9. Decides to remain actively seized of the matter.