South Sudan's English Daily Newspaper
"We Dare where others fear"
By Awan Achiek
The ongoing Dinka Malual and Misseriya pre-post migration peace conference in Aweil town of Northern Bahr el Ghazal State is set to discuss, peace, climate change, refugee influx and implementation of past resolutions.
William Kolong Pioth, the regional peace coordinator of the South Sudan Peace and Reconciliation Commission said the three-day conference that commenced on Thursday is expected to discuss and review the 2023 Resolutions and Recommendations, Climate Change, Drafting and Signing of 2024 Resolutions and Recommendations.
“This year we are discussing a lot of issues to do with cross border movement as well as the refugees that are coming to our country and so the conference will address those two challenges,” Kolong said during the opening of a three-day conference.
The conference organized by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) is being attended by community chiefs, women, religious leaders, local government officials and civil society.
It is being held under the theme: “Promoting Peace and Unity for the Peaceful Coexistence among Bordering Communities”.
Chatha Abdullah, representative of Messiriya community said the conference is expected to resolve issues between the two tribes in a bid to restore good relations.
“Whatever resolution that we have come with during this conference, we need to disseminate to other people,” said Abdullah.
“We need to discuss issues that affect us during this conference so that we will be able to come up with solutions to our problems,” he added.
For his part, Yel Aguet Geng the representative of Dinka Malual stressed the need for the implementation of the agreement signed last year to foster stronger ties.
“We usually conduct this conference every year but it has been two years since we last conducted this conference. There were some things we agreed upon and we drafted a law which we all signed and we need to implement those resolutions of our last meeting,” he said.
Ma Inecita Montero, Civil Affairs Team Leader of UNMISS in Northern Bahr El Ghazal State said they are committed to cooperating and supporting both tribes to foster stronger relations.
“You need to support each other because the resources available water and grazing land are not enough including even food resources,” she said.
Natacha Kunama, representative of UNDP reiterated support for peace in Northern Bahr El Ghazal through conferences and other forums.
“The message I bring today from UNDP is of support of peace in Northern Bahr El Ghazal, support for peace through this event and also through many other activities to continue providing space for communities to come to terms with issues of violence,” she said.
The Dinka Malual of Northern Bahr El Ghazal State have over the years been welcoming Messiriya pastoralists from neighboring Sudan to graze cattle during the dry season in their home country.
However, the relations have been put to test due to conflicts between the two communities over scarce resources.
