Arrangements have been completed for aid workers to return to the Greater Pibor Administrative Area (GPAA) headquarters, Pibor town a month after they were evacuated from there, local officials said.
The arrangements for the return of the humanitarian workers comes after the GPAA authorities warned of a looming humanitarian crisis in the area.
On 5 October, about 78 aid workers were evacuated from Pibor town after being threatened by youths demanding employment and positions in NGOs that they say were ring-fenced for the local communities.
The GPAA deputy chief administrator, John Abulla, told Radio Tamazuj, “On 15 November, the (local) government, UNOCHA, the youth, and the local community representatives agreed to the return of aid workers in Pibor. We all signed the document and that came after several days of talks.”
He pointed out that the aid agencies are already assessing the town ahead of resuming their work.
Asked about the government’s capacity to provide security for the aid workers, Abulla said, “It is incumbent upon us to protect everyone. Again, the youth took the protection of aid workers upon themselves because they have seen the suffering of the locals and so they unconditionally had to welcome back the aid workers. But of course, no one will be allowed to take the law into their hands again.”
For his part, Juma Ludoz, the head of the GPAA Youth Union steering committee, admitted they conceded to the unconditional resumption of the humanitarian work.
“We reached a consensus. We signed a document in which we agreed that the aid workers resume work unconditionally but our demands were considered,” Ludoz said. “On the issue of sexual harassment, we were promised that an investigation is ongoing. On the issue of employment, a human resource audit will be carried out while the rest of our demands have been left for the government to sort out. The agreement is good for us.”
A Pibor resident, Kaka John, welcomed the return of aid workers, saying they will now be able to get much-needed relief aid amid a dire situation.
Radio Tamazuj was not immediately able to reach out to the UNOCHA and the NGO Forum to comment on this story.
Since the start of the year, humanitarians have been threatened by local youths in different parts of the country, leading to the suspension of humanitarian activities and the relocation of the workers.
Last month, the UN’s acting humanitarian coordinator in South Sudan, Mathew Hollingworth, strongly condemned the latest threat against humanitarian organizations and called for their protection, warning that emergency response operations to more than 100, 000 vulnerable people in GPAA will be impacted.