Festus Mogae, chairman of the Joint Monitoring and Evaluation Commission (JMEC), says he was disturbed by reports he received of harassment made against the UN Women director in South Sudan by the government through Minister of Information Michael Makuei.
The alleged harassment by the top government official occurred recently as the UN agency was trying to organize a national women’s conference for peace and reconciliation together with JMEC, which is tasked with overseeing South Sudan’s peace agreement. The two-day conference was attended by peace delegates from across the country but was boycotted by the government.
Speaking on Tuesday during the opening of the JMEC plenary meeting in Juba, Mogae said he does not think that the sovereignty of South Sudan is so fragile that it is challenged or threatened by South Sudanese women getting together.
“I am at a loss as to why the poor UN Woman director was subjected to the harassment to which she became the victim,” Mogae told the meeting attended by foreign diplomatic missions and stakeholders in the peace agreement.
“I don’t understand why the Honorable Minister Makuei contended that the getting together of South Sudanese women to talk about the need for peace and reconciliation among themselves and in their country needed authorization of the government,” he said.
Mogae said that he approached the head of UN Women to help organize other women’s organizations interested in the peace process.
“I chose UN Women as an international body interested in and wanting to work with all the women of South Sudan, of all persuasions, professions and occupations. To my surprise, I am informed by the Director of UN Women that she faced the wrath not only of the Minister of Information but also that of the Representative of Women’s Bloc”.
“It may be because reconciliation among the men is going very slowly but that is all the more reason why we should involve the women because they are mothers of the nation and they prefer their children living rather then dying,” he said.
Lastly, he urged the government allow CTSAMM verification teams to visit the SPLM-IO cantonment sites in the country. He said they are regarding the detention of their member in Torit as unhelpful and disturbing.
Michael Makuei, speaking to press after the JMEC meeting yesterday, responded that the accusations against him are baseless.
“Well, I have already reacted to that because his accusation is baseless; it is unfounded because the government of South Sudan is a sovereign state that must be respected and must be respected,” said Makuei.
“Whoever comes and conducts any function, assembling people and bringing them from all over South Sudan without the involvement of the government of South Sudan is not acceptable and as such I told him that this is not acceptable and I don’t agree with you,” he said.
Mogae’s remarks come also the month after his chief of staff was expelled from South Sudan on the advice of Makuei. The information minister was also a leading critic of the IGAD mediators who brokered South Sudan’s 2015 peace agreement.