The United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) has conducted a two-day workshop in Aweil town, Northern Bahr el Ghazal State, training over 40 participants on child protection.
The primary objective of the workshop was to safeguard children from being involved in military or armed conflicts, addressing issues such as killing, maiming, abduction, and attacks against schools and hospitals.
Among the participants were the South Sudan People’s Defense Forces (SSPDF), South Sudan National Police Service (SSNPS), civil society organizations, community members, and government officials.
The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) has raised concerns about South Sudan’s involvement in various crimes against children, including killing and maiming, recruitment and use of children, sexual violence, abduction, and attacks on schools and hospitals.
Speaking to Radio Tamazuj on Thursday, Thomas Mtaisi, the Acting UNMISS field office in Aweil, commended the warring parties in South Sudan for signing the Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in the Republic of South Sudan (ARCSS) on September 12, 2018.
He emphasized the importance of their commitment to implementing and respecting the provisions of the agreement. Mtaisi highlighted the global efforts to eliminate the participation of children in armed conflicts, expressing UNMISS’s dedication to addressing this challenge.
He explained, “Efforts worldwide are underway to prevent the involvement of children in armed conflicts. The United Nations (UN) has established a mechanism to track such cases, facilitated by the commitment of conflicting parties in South Sudan who agreed on an action plan after signing the Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in the Republic of South Sudan (ARCSS) on September 12, 2018.”
According to him, the signatories of the peace agreement, which include the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM), the South Sudan People’s Liberation Movement in Opposition (SPLM-IO), the South Sudan Opposition Alliance (SSOA), and the Other Political Parties (OPP), have developed and signed action plans to end the involvement of children in armed conflicts.
“The action plan, formulated and endorsed by the warring parties in September 2020, is a focal point for UNMISS. We are actively ensuring that the conflicting parties consistently contribute to eradicating the engagement of children in armed conflict. As part of these efforts, we have convened a technical committee for Northern Bahr el Ghazal State to collaboratively devise strategies for addressing this issue,” he added.
The Head of the Child Protection Unit at the Aweil UNMISS field office, Elizabeth Kangela, emphasized that the UNMISS, government, and their partners have a collective responsibility to redefine their roles and duties to uphold the status of child protection in the state.
“Today, as we convene here on Thursday, the State Steering Technical Committee on Child Protection aims to reevaluate our efforts across various organizations, including UNMISS, the Ministry of Gender, Child and Social Welfare, Demobilization, Disarmament and Reintegration, as well as the military, police, and other uniformed personnel. Our primary focus is on determining the most effective strategies for maintaining child protection,” explained Kangela.
In addition, Lt. Colonel Alberto Buola, a participant in the workshop, acknowledged that the South Sudan People’s Defense Forces (SSPDF) recognizes the involvement of children in armed struggle as a human rights abuse. He expressed their commitment to working diligently to remove South Sudan from the list of countries violating child rights.
“The workshop concentrates on child rights, emphasizing that children should not be allowed to join the military. It is our responsibility to ensure the prohibition of children’s involvement,” stated Buola. “As a country listed for violating child rights, it is imperative that we exert our best efforts to eliminate such cases to be delisted.”