Opposition forces based in the Eastern Equatorian region of South Sudan have pledged to uphold human rights from the command level right through to the rank and file following a workshop hosted by the United Nations peacekeeping mission in the conflict-affected country.

“One hand cannot make a clap. Before God, I am so happy to see the world supporting us,” said Alier Wal who lost both parents in 2013.

“This is light at the end of the tunnel,” he assured his fellow orphans.

Thousands of children have suffered at the hands of armed groups during South Sudan’s civil war. They have been killed, maimed, abducted, separated from their families and denied access to education and healthcare.