South Sudan's English Daily Newspaper
"We Dare where others fear"
By Awan Achiek
Authorities in Yei River County of Central Equatoria State and UN agencies have developed an action plan to improve civil- military relations in the County.
The plan was developed during a two-day workshop organized by the Community Empowerment for Progress Organization (CEPO) and the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) with support from the International Organization for Migration (IOM).
According to a statement issued on Thursday in Juba by CEPO, the workshop brought together 63 participants from community, paramount chiefs, religious leaders, women and youth leaders, members of defense forces and government officials.
It said the action plan will address mistrust or misunderstandings between civilians and the army and also create mechanism to end harassment, intimidation, rape, killings, displacement and looting of civilian properties by soldiers.
Edmund Yakani, Executive Director for CEPO said the implementation of the action plan requires the input of all stake-holders.
“The honest implementation of the resolutions requires all the stake-holders to play their roles in ensuring a reconciled, resilient, and stabilized Southern Central Equatoria State and indeed a peaceful South Sudan,” said Yakani.
He appealed to all stake-holders to fully implement the action plan in order realize peace, security and development in Yei River County.
For his part, John McCue, IOM South Sudan Chief of Mission said the action plan follow-up will be key to reducing violence and improving peace and stability in Central Equatoria state.
“Commitment from the government to this action plan is a pivotal outcome for Greater Yei and we are enthusiastic to see the key high-level stake-holders taking ownership of the community-led peace initiatives to ensure better relationships between civilians and military,” said McCue.
He said the key part of the agreement in this plan scheduled for implementation within the next six months is the removal of illegal checkpoints in Greater Yei.
“We are very happy with this progress, and it is a testament that the people of South Sudan want and believe in peace,” said Shamira Haider, the manager of the UN Multi Partner Trust Fund for Reconciliation, Stabilization and Resilience in South Sudan (RSRTF) in Central Equatoria State.
“We believe the plan which is the outcome of a grounds-up approach would be effective in bringing peace and reconciliation, so that the communities and government can focus on solidifying their progress,” said Haider.
