Unity State Peace forum commences in Juba to promote coexistence

A member of the Civil Society organization has organized two days forum on the National Advocacy to advance Peace in Unity state under the theme, “Towards Positive Peacebuilding.”

The Peace workshop was initiated by Dialogue and Research Institute (DRI), a national NGO supported by the United States Agency for International Development.

Executive Director of DRI, Gordon Lam says the program has contributed toward the transformation, promoted peaceful coexistence, and protect human rights, for the past 3 years.

He says the project has been empowering communities in resolving, and preventing conflict through Peace Networks, (PNs) Peace Committees (PCs), and Youth Empowerment.

“The main agenda is to allow us to interact on peacebuilding learning lessons on the ground and how the agencies who are supporting peacebuilding can collaborate. Peacebuilding is a multi-task and has to be coordinated but we are lacking coordination and that is why we called the members of parliaments,” Lam said.

Lam added that the peace agreement parties are implementing doesn’t stop the sub-national violence in the country and peace actors should work with communities to bring local peace initiatives.

The Peace forum started on Thursday and will conclude on Friday, it was commissioned by Piah Philip Michael, the Undersecretary for the Ministry of Peace Building.

Philip encourages the communities to use dialogue as a means of resolving conflict across the country.

Piah Philip says South Sudanese must embrace each other and look at themselves as South Sudanese but not as ethnic groups.

“We need to see ourselves as South Sudanese, not as ethnic groups. We know we have been identifying ourselves as ethnic groups due to the absence of social infrastructure. It is time we identify ourselves with our country,” Michael explained.

The Undersecretary stated that peace can never be achieved through the use of force and the carrying of guns but through the use of dialogues and understanding people’s views.

He emphasizes that people should learn to compromise in order for peace to prevail in the country.

Piah said, “We have learned that peace cannot be taken by force but through understanding. All the guns in the hands of our people can never give us peace.”

Reverend Father James Oyet, the Secretary-General for the South Sudan Council of Churches believes that the people at the grassroots have better solutions to the problems facing them.

He calls on the stakeholders to get the views of the people directly from the communities of Koch and Mayendit counties and stop relying on information given by politicians based in Juba.

Father Oyet urges the peace partners to change the approaches of getting the views of the people at the grassroots in order to achieve lasting peace within the communities.

Dialogue and Research Institute (DRI) is an Advocacy Forum for promoting sustainable peaceful coexistence among communities of Koch and Mayendit Counties in Unity State.