According to UNMISS head Nicholas Haysom, for the process to achieve its target objective, it should be backed by everyone in the country and be neutral and impartial in application.
By Ajah Jennifer
The Representative of the UN Secretary General and head of the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS), Nicholas Hayson has called for neutrality to ensure success in the disarmament process.
According to Haysom, for the process to achieve its target objective, it should be backed by everyone in the country and be neutral and impartial in application. The UNMISS head advised government to take lessons from previous failures to ensure a safe and understanding process.
He also emphasized on the need to build a society which is capable of stabilizing issues of punishment, revenge, restitution and retribution.
“You’ve got to build a culture of independent, prosecuting services. You’ve got to develop a police service that is capable of conducting impartial investigations. So, I have no illusions about the tasks that are required, but it’s why we are now putting more and more effort into this question of the rule of law,” he said.
Haysom said that prisons need to be built, and that it would be regretful if this is not achieved by the end of his tenure and a functioning police system is not in place.
During the 7th Governors’ Forum, UNMISS) called for a comprehensive national program of peaceful disarmament, demobilization, and reintegration (DDR) to address the root causes of subnational violence plaguing the country.
“I share the concern of all Governors and Chief Administrators over the continued proliferation of arms. UNMISS supports your calls for a comprehensive national programme of peaceful disarmament, demobilization and reintegration,” Haysom said.
Meanwhile, the UN Undersecretary for Peace Operations, Jean Pierre Lacroix, who has been on a four-days visit to South Sudan, met met President Salva Kiir, where they discussed various issues, including preparations for the country’s upcoming elections and the implementation of security arrangements under the 2018 Revitalized Peace Agreement.
In his visit, Lacroix paid a two-days visit to Abyei, where communal and border conflicts have been prevalent. He stated that violence in various parts of the country is a going concern as well as the impact of the Sudanese conflict on South Sudan based on both the number of IDPs, the number of refugees and returnees, which have added on to the existing domestic challenges.
“Our hope is that the parties to the revitalized agreement will break political deadlocks through consensus and move forward swiftly to ensure the latest extension leads to elections under the best possible circumstances” he explained.
He exclaimed that the UN were open to assisting the government on their journey to a permanent peace.
Lacroix also spoke about the crisis in Sudan and its effects on IDPs such as ongoing inter-communal tension.
“On these issues, we agreed that building trust and confidence among both communities, as well as making sure that there is active dialogue between all the key stakeholders, is absolutely paramount,” he explained.
The United Nations Mission continues to deploy peace keeping forces to provide assistance in handling conflicts in most parts of the country.