UNMISS conducts roundtable discussions for peace awareness in Lakes State

26 Jan 2015

UNMISS conducts roundtable discussions for peace awareness in Lakes State

26 January 2015 - To help prevent inter-communal conflict in Lakes State, UNMISS recently started conducting a series of roundtable dialogues in different areas in the state.

The dialogues, organized by the Civil Affairs Section, are aimed at identifying problems between communities and discussing possible solutions to promote peaceful co-existence.

“Through these roundtable discussions we prepare the people to adopt a culture of peace and leaving the revenge culture behind for present and future generations,” said Civil Affairs Officer Usman Dogar. “These discussions are a preparation for bigger workshops, where the conflicting communities will sit together and create peace.”

The first dialogue was held on 19 January in Akot, a locality in Rumbek East County which is mainly inhabited by the Panyar community who have been in conflict with the Nyuei community since 1996.

Representatives of the Panyar community pointed out some of the issues triggering conflict, like failure to deliver justice and the abundance of arms.

According to Mr. Dogar, the UNMISS team will also meet with the Nyuei community and then arrange a joint meeting between the two communities.

On 23 January, the Civil Affairs team met the Jur-Beli in Wulu County. The predominantly farming community gets involved in conflict with pastrolists that come into area from Rumbek East in search of water and grazing land.

“We only harvest honey three times a year,” explained Chadrock Bol Machok, a Member of Parliament. “When our beehives are destroyed by the cattle, we don’t have anything to fall back on.”