Army, Civil Society and UN develop action plan to improve civil military relations in Greater Yei

November 30, 2023, Juba – In an unprecedented move, the community, military, government,
civil society and UN have come together to develop an action plan to improve civilian and
military relations in Greater Yei.

The plan, scheduled to be implemented with specific deadlines, was developed through a
accumulation workshop organized by Community Empowerment for Progress Organization
(CEPO) and United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) supported by International
Organization for Migration (IOM) under the phase one programming of UN Multi Partner Trust
Fund for Reconciliation, Stabilization and Resilience in South Sudan (RSRTF) in Central
Equatoria State.

A total of 63 participants, including community representatives, paramount chiefs, religious
leaders, women and youth leaders, high-level defense forces, and high-level government
officials- notably the Ministry of Defense Deputy Chief of Staff and representatives of the
Central Equatoria Governor- played a pivotal role in developing the action plan and its
endorsement by the involved parties.
“The honest implementation of the resolutions requires all the stakeholders to play their roles in
ensuring a reconciled, resilient, and stabilized Southern CES and indeed a peaceful South
Sudan”. Edmund Yakani said.
“I appealed to you to exert efforts to develop an action plan so that the resolutions are fully
implemented responsibly for the realization of peace, security and development in the former
breadbasket”. Edmund concluded.
A key agreement from this plan, scheduled for implementation within the next six months, is the
removal of illegal checkpoints in Greater Yei. “Commitment from the Government to this action
plan is a pivotal outcome for Greater Yei and we are enthusiastic to see the key high-level

stakeholders taking ownership of the community-led peace initiatives to ensure better
relationships between civilians and military. This action plan follow-up will be key to reducing
violence and improving the stability in Central Equatoria”, said John McCue, IOM South Sudan
Chief of Mission.

The workshop was originally organized to present the resolutions from ten civil-military
dialogues held at the four counties of Greater Yei, under the phase one of RSRTF programming,
which identified key issues, including mistrust and misunderstandings among civilians and the
army: harassment, intimidation, raping, killing, displacement and looting of properties,
checkpoints and roadblocks, that were hampering civil life and development of the areas. These
resolutions were used to create this action plan.

“We are very happy with this progress, and it is a testament that the people of South Sudan want
and believe in peace,” Shamira Haider, the manager of RSRTF, said.

“We believe the plan, which is the outcome of a grounds-up approach, would be effective in
bringing peace and reconciliation so that the communities and government can focus on
solidifying their progress,” she added.

The action points should improve relations between the military and civilians, swift unification,
training and deployment of the unified forces; contribute to the separation of politics from
military and demilitarization of politics; support the adherence to the welfare of the military
(food, salary and medication); enforce the Governor’s order for removal of illegal checkpoints;
ensure the comprehensive disarmament of the civil population; encourage continuous civil-
military dialogues in the grassroots and quarterly dialogues at national level; expand military
court martial to the counties; provide psycho-social support and trauma healing for both civilians
and military; establish police stations and deploy of sufficient and effective police forces at the
county levels; initiate home grown solutions to address the conflict between the National
Salvation Front (NAS) and the government; and promote adult literacy education.

“None of this would have been possible without the support of our international, local and UN
partners, including contributing partners like Canada, European Union, Germany, Netherlands,
Norway, Sweden and Switzerland,” Shamira Haider added.

Meanwhile, as part of capacity building and exit strategy of phase two of the project, the
consortium partners will work with the government to ensure these resolutions are implemented.
Phase one of the RSRTF programme in Central Equatoria was led by IOM and its consortium
including CEPO, UNMISS, Finn Church Aid (FCA), Whitaker Development Initiative (WPDI)
and Support for Peace and Education Development Programme (SPEDP).

The RSRFT project was designed to support communities and returnees in Yei, Lainya, Morobo
and Kajo-Keji counties reconcile, reduce violence, and bring stability where they live and create
new incentives for peaceful coexistence.