The Vice President and chair of Economic Cluster Dr James Wani Igga has said the greatest threat to peace and co-existence does not come as a result of cultural or religious differences but from ignorance.

Dr Igga was talking to more than 100 youth who attended the “I am Peace’’ public lecture on culture, education and youth in leadership.

The one-day lecture took place in Lobonk Payam at the African Institution for Development and Leadership studies on Saturday.

During the workshop, the VP raised some of the issues that are making the youth in the country remain behind. He said that there was ignorance and backward social formation, a low level of constitutionalism and the rule of law as well as a high scale of nepotism, greed and impunity.

“The other issue is tradition and culture of revenge and violence and inhabitation. We are killing ourselves because of revenge as if there is no law, somebody might have killed your brother by mistake then from there you collect the whole village to go and kill the [other] village instant of going to court,” he said.

Igga said there is a need for the societies in the country to change their behaviours and go in the right manner.

He Igga explained that disunity brings violence among the youth, which is the key challenge that is centred among the youth.

“The key challenges to our youth are the unity that is centred on certain areas and disciplines as much as the scenario currently stands,” he revealed.

Igga further said, “There is the deep absence of respect to human rights, and respect to democracy adherence to non-violence and elementary consciousness about HIV/AIDS.”

He added that there is a lack of recognition of gender rights

“The women have the right to struggle for there more than 35 per cent, however, these should be done in an acceptable [way] and not through violence.

“But to do that we must allow our women to be educated for them to achieve other realisation to alternative programmes,’’ he said. 

The objectives of the public lecture were to provide the youth with basic knowledge and skills in de-escalating violence and contributing to peaceful solutions of conflicts through nonviolent means.

The VP said the workshop was also to empower youth and other members of the civil societies to restore confidence among themselves.

“To establish a network and build the capacity of youth and the local community-based organisations in the country in dealing with the conflict in a constructive manner,” he said.

He explained that it is “important to train youth on human rights, on nonviolence and democracy in South Sudan to increase the level of critical awareness in the civil population so that they can take control of their affairs’’.

“There is need to establish a centre for democracy and nonviolence and clear education to prepare youth to work for justice, democratic and socio-economic sustainable societies,’’ he proceeded to say.

“Begin the process of building responsible South Sudanese youth as leaders with an emphasis on the ideology of South Sudanism and to inculcate in the youth the urge and culture of uprightness and patriotism’’.