Members of the Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA) have renewed their commitment to protect vulnerable children in South Sudan.

In a two-day workshop organised by UNMISS’ Child Protection Unit in Kuajok in the Warrap region, 100 uniformed personnel from the SPLA Lion Division Brigade received awareness training on their responsibility to protect civilians, especially children, during armed conflicts.

“The main purpose of the workshop is to raise awareness about grave violations that are committed against children during armed conflict by parties to the conflict,” said UNMISS’ Child Protection Officer, Joseph Deng Ather.

Deng Ather added that the workshop would include action plans on how to stop violations of children’s rights.

The Warrap State Minister of Child and Social Development, Atem Ring, urged participants to pass on the knowledge they received from the training to other uniformed personnel.  

The County Commissioner of Turalei, Santino Amuol Majok, thanked the United Nations for supporting efforts to raise awareness on children’s rights and the responsibility of armed personnel to protect them.  

The Commissioner said, “I was a child soldier when the late Dr John Garang sent me to school”.

“I am now the County Commissioner; it is because I was protected and given hope for the future,” he said. “It is your duty as officers in charge to protect children from being used as child soldiers.”

The Commanding Officer of the SPLA, Colonel Arop Ujulu Deng, reiterated the army’s commitment towards the Recommitment Agreement to end the recruitment of children into armed forces, signed between SPLA and United Nations in 2014.

“Children are seeds of peace not seeds of war,” said Colonel Deng.

“Education for children should be compulsory and child soldiers should be identified and sent back to their families,” he said.