The Aweil people-to-people peace conference which was expected to start on 21 December has been postponed due to financial challenges and lack of preparations, an official from the peacebuilding ministry in Northern Bahr el Ghazal State said at the weekend.
The conference which was initiated by the state government was meant to address political issues, economic empowerment, social ties, and community cohesion matters to promote peacebuilding and conflict resolution mechanisms.
Speaking to Radio Tamazuj over the weekend, the Peacebuilding Minister Abuor Gordon Nhial said a new date for the conference will be communicated soon.
“We were supposed to hold the conference starting on 21 December and the top agenda is unity among the Aweil people,” she explained. “The holiday break starts on 24 December and by 28 December, the conference sessions would resume and resolutions and the final ceremony would have been done on 1 January 2025. Unfortunately, it is postponed because the time did not allow us to get all we needed in place.”
The conference’s high committee is headed by Deputy Governor Tong Lual Ayat and deputized by Peacebuilding Minister Gordon and has members from the state executive and legislative assembly.
The Executive Director of the Peace Culture Association (PCA), Wek Garang, said the postponement of the conference will have negative impacts.
“The postponement has negative effects because it would have addressed some issues that may contribute to internal conflicts and disputes,” he stated. “The postponement is so bad because people have been waiting for this event, but unfortunately they were informed that it is not to be conducted. People are asking why it was adjourned on the last day.”