25 June 2015 - UNMISS Child Protection Unit today ended a forum on preventing, monitoring and reporting violations against children in conflict societies.

The two-day activity in the state capital Torit targeted more than 20 participants from local authorities, civil society organizations, organized forces and other child protection actors from across Eastern Equatoria.

Child Protection Officer Amos Cassell said participants had a vital role to play in child protection.

“We hope that the topics discussed at the forum have helped them understand the issues and when they leave they will be able to prevent, monitor or report violations against children anywhere,” he said.

Police Corporal Oryem Johnson said the forum would help him and his colleagues at the South Sudan National Police Services special protection and gender-based violence unit to better understand and deal with issues related to children.

“Violations against children are very common but we won’t be able to deal with them if we don’t understand … and we hope these sort of fora will continue,” Corporal Johnson said.

Michael Duku, the Chief of Owinykibul, a community hosting a military base 100 kilometres from Torit, said information shared at the forum would help him create awareness and discourage recruitment of children into armed groups.

“We will be holding meetings in the community to let parents know that they should not give their children for recruitment into the army or other armed groups,” he said.