At a workshop organized by the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) in Mugwo payam [administrative division] situated in Yei county in South Sudan’s Eastern Equatoria state, Captain Ali, the commander of the South Sudan Peoples Defense Forces (SSPDF), was speaking.
The workshop’s main goal was to bring together and unite local law enforcement, SSPDF employees, and community members in an effort to increase voluntary returns and strengthen a secure environment for locals.
We urge on other forces that are still working in the jungle to join us in keeping communities secure.
“Our men are sensitized on the need to safeguard everyone, especially travelers on the way to Morobo,” continued Captain Ali.
The training modules, which were put together by the UN Peacekeeping mission’s Protection, Transition, and Reintegration Section, included interactive discussions on civilian attacks, harm to aid workers, displacement of people, protection, as well as support for returnees, particularly youth, to reintegrate into their communities and rebuild their lives.
A Mugwo resident who attended the session, Cecilia Gire Anania, commented about the improvement in the security situation.
She reflected, “As women and young girls, we have lived through a time when it was unthinkable for us to travel even a short distance alone for fear that we would either be robbed and beaten or suffer sexual assault.
“We are delighted that things have improved and that we now feel more safer, but I am aware that much more work needs to be done to bring about long-term peace and stability.
Relationships between civilian and military actors also played a significant role in the forum’s discussion.
In order to ensure social cohesion and trust-building, community members, especially women, young people, and traditional leaders, came to an agreement for more frequent experience-sharing with the SSPDF.
It is essential that these friendly contacts extend to all other forces, including the Sudan People’s Liberation Army-in Opposition, according to payam administrator Lomudong Samuel Rufas.
He said it simply but effectively: “We hope that all uniformed actors take part in such trainings so that we are all on the same page, especially when it comes to defending women and children.
“This will greatly aid in motivating refugees and internally displaced people to return to Mugwo, he continued.
Participants were briefed on the ongoing peace process and the outstanding benchmarks in the 2018 peace deal by facilitators from the Reconstituted Joint Monitoring and Evaluation Commission (RJMEC) and the Ceasefire and Transitional Security Arrangements Monitoring and Verification Mechanism (CTSAMVM), respectively.
These benchmarks must be met for free, fair, and peaceful elections to be held within the allotted time since the end of the transitional security arrangements.
Esther Kyewalabye, Senior Humanitarian Adviser, RJMEC, stated that “all parties to the Revitalized Peace Agreement must fulfill their responsibilities to ensure that critical tasks are completed, especially drafting a permanent constitution and graduating the Necessary Unified Forces, so that the South Sudanese people can express their will at the polls.”
According to data gathered from the Yei County Court, Mugwo has seen an increase in reported occurrences of sexual violence, like many other counties in other states across this young nation.
According to Jacquelyn Nakayenze, the CTSAMVM Team Leader in Yei, “There are terrible cases of women and girls being attacked and receiving treatment in the Yei Civil Hospital as I speak.”
Everyone has to recognize that violence against women in any form is reprehensible and counterproductive to efforts to promote peace, she said.
This workshop is one of a number of such events that UNMISS has planned throughout the state of Central Equatoria to foster understanding of the necessity of a lasting peace and promote voluntary returns.
on behalf of the United Nations Mission in South Sudan, distributed by APO Group (UNMISS).