The Council,

1. Takes note of the briefings provided by the Commissioner for Peace and Security of the African Union, Ambassador Smail Chergui, and the High Representative of the African Union for South Sudan, former President Alpha Oumar Konare, on the situation in South Sudan. The Council also takes note of the statement made by the representative of the Republic of South Sudan;

2. Recalls its previous communiqués and press statements on the situation in South Sudan, in particular communiqué PSC/PR/1(DCXVI), adopted at its 616th meeting, held on 11 August 2016 in Addis Ababa, as well as the decision of the Assembly of the African Union on the situation in South Sudan, adopted at its twenty-seventh ordinary session, held in Kigali on 18 July 2016;

3. Expresses its satisfaction with the efforts, under very challenging circumstances, of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD)-PLUS, including the African Union High-level Ad Hoc Committee for South Sudan, the High Representative of the African Union for South Sudan, former President Alpha Oumar Konare, and the Chairman of the Joint Monitoring and Evaluation Commission, former President Festus Mogae, to restore peace in South Sudan;

4. Reiterates that the situation in South Sudan has serious implications for regional peace and stability, and stresses that the only path to the resolution of the conflict in South Sudan is through political dialogue;

5. Welcomes the joint communiqué by the Transitional Government of National Unity of South Sudan and the members of the Security Council issued on 4 September 2016 (S/2016/776, annex), following a Security Council field mission to South Sudan. The Council requests the Commission of the African Union to finalize consultations with the Transitional Government of National Unity in order to enable it to undertake its own planned field mission to South Sudan, as soon as possible;

6. Urges once again the parties to the Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in the Republic of South Sudan, signed in August 2015, to foster mutual trust, uphold the interest of their country and its people above any other consideration and scrupulously implement the Agreement;

7. Calls upon all regional and international stakeholders to support the implementation of the Agreement and to encourage all efforts to ensure peace in South Sudan, in support of the Transitional Government of National Unity. Furthermore, the Council underscores the importance of also addressing the economic and developmental dimensions of the conflict;

8. Further underscores the importance of promoting reconciliation, healing and national unity to ensure sustainable peace, stability and development in South Sudan. The Council further stresses the need to hold accountable those who committed atrocities, in order to end and prevent impunity in the future;

9. Further reiterates the importance of taking advantage of all available African capabilities to address the situation in South Sudan, in particular the African peacekeeping capacities of member States ready to adequately participate in the proposed Regional Protection Force;

10. Underlines the importance of deploying the Regional Protection Force, pursuant to Security Council resolution 2304 (2016) of 12 August 2016 and in total coordination with the Transitional Government of National Unity, with a view to reaching a consensus on all the details related to forming the Force, as well as its deployment, mandate and areas of operation, within the framework of the ruling principles of peacekeeping, and enabling the Force to fulfil its mandate;

11. Urges the Transitional Government of National Unity to make the revised matrix on the implementation of the Agreement available to all relevant stakeholders in order to assess the implications thereof;

12. Welcomes the readiness of the Arab Republic of Egypt to actively participate in the Regional Protection Force in South Sudan;

13. Stresses the necessity of reaching an enhanced coordination between the Security Council, the Peace and Security Council of the African Union, IGAD and the African non-permanent members of the Security Council, in order to reach consensus on the details and measures of deploying the Regional Protection Force;

14. Encourages the operational coordination between the United Nations Mission in South Sudan and the Regional Protection Force in order to achieve peace and stability in South Sudan and avoid any duplication in their mandates;

15. Decides to remain actively seized of the matter.