The Joint Monitoring and Evaluation (JMEC), a body tasked with overseeing the implementation of the peace agreement, has called on the South Sudan media to be part of the solution in the country’s quest for durable peace.
Speaking during the opening of a two-day workshop that targeted members of South Sudan media on Thursday, JMEC Chief of Staff, Ambassador Berhanu Kebede, said: “We urge you (the media) to promote cohesion; build brotherhood and good neighborliness. JMEC wants you to be part of the solution, not part of the problem and above all, hold the signatories of these Agreements accountable.”
The workshop organized in collaboration with Journalists for Human Rights (JHR), is aimed at giving an update on the peace process, receive a briefing on progress on the implementation of the Agreement on Cessation of Hostilities and Protection of Civilians and Humanitarian Access (ACoH) from the Ceasefire and Transitional Security Arrangements Monitoring Mechanism (CTSAMM), as well as impart skills on how to write reconciliation stories to 100 journalists attached to local and international media houses based in Juba.
He urged the media to remind the parties that “South Sudan and indeed the world are watching.”
“Violators of the signed agreements must be known and exposed. Only then will the trust of the people in the political leaders be regained and true inclusivity achieved,” he added.
Ambassador Kebede said media coverage of the conflict and the peace process in the various media platforms in the country “could be described as double-edged.”
“History shows the media can fuel wars and turn communities against each other. Equally, the media can be agents of peace and reconciliation, counter hate speech, fight impunity and uphold supremacy of the law,” he said.
The Chief of Staff said, it is the commission’s “earnest hope that peace will be restored fully to South Sudan and that the fully revitalized peace agreement will be comprehensively implemented by the Parties.”
“We at JMEC remain optimistic that at this point in time that parties to the conflict will demonstrate absolute determination and political commitment to bring lasting peace to their motherland, South Sudan and work relentlessly for the peaceful integration of divided communities,” he noted.
“Following the signing of the revitalized agreement, the millions of internally displaced South Sudanese and refugees will voluntarily return to their homes and fully participate in the reconstruction of their country.”
Ambassador Kebede further urged the government and the opposition “to keep the momentum of constructive political engagement that we have so far witnessed during the HLRF process and to bring about lasting peace to South Sudan.”
“This window of opportunity, which is pivotal to bring South Sudan out of the conflict, should not be wasted,” he said.