PSC/HGS/COMM.(DCCLXXXIII) Page 1 COMMUNIQUE The Peace and Security Council (PSC) of the African Union (AU), at its 783rd meeting held in Nouakchott, Mauritania, on 30 June 2018, at the level of Heads of State and Government, adopted the following decision on the situation in the Republic of South Sudan: Council, 1. Takes note of the statements made by the Chairperson of the PSC, President of Sierra Leone, H.E Julius Maada Bio and Chairperson of the AU Commission, Moussa Faki Mahamat. Council further takes note of the presentations made by the AU Commissioner for Peace and Security, Ambassador Smail Chergui and the briefing by the AU High Representative for South Sudan, former President Alpha Konare. Council also takes note of the statements by the representative of Ethiopia, in its capacity as Chair of the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD), the President of Sudan, H.E. Omar Hassan Al-Bashir, the representative of the South Africa, in its capacity as Chairperson of the AU Ad Hoc Committee for South Sudan; 2. Recalls its previous communiques and press statements on the situation in South Sudan, particularly communique PSC/AHG/COMM(DCXXVI), adopted at its 720th meeting held on 20 September 2016 in New York, at the ministerial level and communiqué PSC/PR/COMM.(DCCLI) adopted at its 751st meeting held on 8 February 2018, as well as communique [PSC/PR/COMM.(DCCLXVIII)] adopted at its 768th meeting held on 26 April 2018; 3. Commends the efforts deployed by the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD) Heads of State and Governments, namely H.E. Dr. Abiy Ahmed, Prime Minister of the Federal Democratic Republic Ethiopia, H.E. Ismail Omar Guelleh, President of the Republic of Djibouti; H.E. Uhuru Kenyatta, President of the Republic of Kenya; H.E. Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed, President of the Republic of Somalia; H.E. Salva Kiir Mayardit, President of the Republic of South Sudan; H.E. Omar Hassan al-Bashir, President of the Republic of Sudan; and H.E. Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, President of the Republic of Uganda for their continued engagement in search for a lasting solution to the conflict in South Sudan and encourages them to sustain their engagement; 4. Recalls the establishment of the African Union High Level Ad Hoc Committee for South Sudan in 2014, which comprises Algeria, Chad, Nigeria, Rwanda and South Africa to scale up AU support to the IGAD-led peace process. Council expresses its deep appreciation for the involvement of the Ad Hoc Committee, under the chairmanship of South Africa, in the efforts to end the war in South Sudan, through its continued support to the IGAD-led mediation process. In this regard, Council urges the Ad Hoc Committee to continue pursuing and further intensify its engagement and support to the IGAD-led mediation process; 5. Stresses the imperative of the Agreement on the Cessation of Hostilities, Protection of Civilians and Humanitarian Access (CoHA) getting full translated into a permanent ceasefire as agreed in the Khartoum Declaration Agreement and commends the AU Ad hoc Committee for its engagement to promote a permanent ceasefire in South Sudan;