21 March 2012 – The statewide disarmament campaign in Jonglei is proceeding peacefully in Ayod County, according to local officials and residents who met with an UNMISS integrated monitoring team today.

The acting county commissioner Thon Kamis said a series of rallies was held to explain the reasons and objectives of the campaign to the local population before the exercise got underway on 16 March.

He said that Ayod County Commissioner James Mawich Makwac set a good example when he became the first resident in the predominantly Gwar Nuer area to surrender his weapons to the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA).

"The payam and boma chiefs and administrators are registering the arms and turning them over to the SPLA and organized forces," said Mr. Kamis, who declined to provide figures on the number of weapons collected to date. "Everyone is cooperating with the disarmament."

He acknowledged that youths in the county were initially reluctant to cooperate with the campaign, but discussions with legislators, government ministers and tribal chiefs convinced them that their peers in the neighboring counties of Fangak and Duk would also take part in the disarmament effort.

One of those youths endorsed the campaign as a vital step to promote stability and economic development in Jonglei. "We need peace and a gun free community," said James Ayod, a street vendor in his twenties. "I am happy some people I know are disarming."

A female member of the South Sudan Legislative Assembly from Ayod County identified a crucial role that women can play to ensure the success of the campaign.

"I have come here to encourage women in Ayod to tell their children and husbands to disarm," said Adeng Leek. "With the involvement of women in the exercise, it is bound to succeed."

The disarmament effort kicked off in the town of Ayod but has since spread to outlying communities and cattle camps where, according to Mr. Kamis, local officials are working closely with SPLA units and South Sudan Police Service officers to ensure compliance with the campaign.