The United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) said Monday it plans to launch a significant new initiative designed to increase participation in the peace process and support efforts to progress the implementation of the Revitalized Agreement.

The UN mission said the UNMISS Peace Fellows Program will bring together participants from the ten states and three administrative areas in a year-long program of engagement, beginning with a series of education and awareness-raising activities in Juba.

The program, which is backed by the African Union and Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), is a joint initiative between UNMISS and South Sudan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation.

It said the program will be officially launched later this week at a special event led by the UN Special Representative of the Secretary-General, Nicholas Haysom and Vice President Rebecca Nyandeng De Mabior, with support from representatives from the IGAD and AU.

The launch comes after Haysom said in June that the peace process remains fragile despite some recent progress made by the parties to the 2018 revitalized peace deal signed in Ethiopia.

"Courageous decisions need to be made including the unification of security forces, I urge the people and leaders of South Sudan to breathe fresh life in the peace process and fully implement the agreement, including by finalizing the constitution and eventually holding elections," he said on June 3.

The UN official noted that the peace process must be led and owned by the people of South Sudan to ensure that the peace that is achieved is sustainable.

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