Border communities of South Sudan’s Northern Bahr el Ghazal and Warrap states on Thursday recommitted to promoting peaceful coexistence to curb crimes and conflicts along the borders.
Representatives from Aweil South, Aweil East, and Aweil Center Counties in Northern Bahr el Ghazal State signed a resolutions document with their counterparts from Gogrial West in presence of the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) in Aweil South County.
Warrap’s Gogrial West County Commissioner, Victor Wek Koor, speaking to Radio Tamazuj outlined part of the resolutions.
“We have discussed on common interest items along the borders, especially among Gogrial West, Aweil East, Aweil South, and Aweil Counties. We have agreed that Gogrial cattle shall migrate to areas of Aweil South and Aweil Center every January,” Wek said. “We have also agreed to avoid border-related conflicts and if there is any internal border problem, people should not fight but they can live peacefully and there is none allowed to take the law in his or her own hands.”
For his part, Aweil East County Commissioner, Kiir Yor Lual, said his community representatives attended the event with a commitment to sign the agreed resolutions.
“The communities’ representatives from the four counties have come and we reviewed the resolutions and will be signed. There will be mutual benefits for the communities of the four counties,” he added.
The resolutions were signed after the UNMISS office in Aweil concluded a two-day empowerment workshop to equip members of the peace committees.
“Representatives of communities from Aweil South, Aweil East, and Aweil Center of Northern Bahr el Ghazal State and Gogrial West of Warrap State participated in the workshop,” Maria Inecita Montero, UNMISS Civil Affairs Division team leader in Aweil said.
She added, “This is aimed at promoting peace and social cohesion among communities from those counties especially as we have an influx of cross-border activities including cattle migration among the four counties, most often misunderstanding and disputes erupt.”
According to Inecita, the local peace committee members are in a better place to address conflict triggers at the community levels as they have access to the communities, the government, and UNMISS.