JONGLEI - With the agreement by all signatories on a Roadmap to fulfil outstanding benchmarks contained within the Revitalized Peace Agreement and the graduation of the first batch of the Necessary Unified Forces, South Sudan is finally making tangible progress as it emerges from the devastation of civil war.

A key step for this young nation in transitioning to a truly democratic society is building respect for human rights.

The United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS), as one of the country’s leading peace partners has worked consistently with all stakeholders to raise awareness on the importance of upholding human rights.

Recently 60 senior military commanders at a two-day human rights workshop facilitated by the UN Peacekeeping mission in Bor have pledged to be ambassadors of human rights.

“We now have a clear understanding on command and individual responsibilities and how to hold perpetrators of human rights violations accountable. We will now become ambassadors of human rights and the rights of vulnerable people,” stated Brigadier-General William Abiel, a senior military officer representing two military commands.

“All of us participating in this workshop hold leadership positions and we commit to trickling down the knowledge we have gained to forces under our command so that we are able to identify, report on and prevent violations of human rights,” he added.

The Brigadier General also explained that the graduating of unified forces signals a new phase for the military and called for adequate training for the soldiers to ensure that they are fully capable of being a proud standing army at par with international standards, responsible for defending the nation against external enemies.

“We need comprehensive training so that the people of our country have confidence that we are here to protect them,” he explained.

The main aim of the training sessions: to create awareness, develop skills, knowledge and enhance the capacity of the South Sudan Peoples Defence Forces (SSPDF) personnel stationed in Bor.

The training was actioned by the UNMISS Human Rights Division upon the request of local military interlocuters to bridge knowledge gaps of military personnel on respect, protection, and promotion of human rights during armed conflict.

For her part, Geetha Pious, Head of the UNMISS Field office in Jonglei and Greater Pibor Administrative Area reminded participating commanders of traditional harmful practices that could amount to human rights violations.

“Even customary practices such as early or forced marriages can amount to human rights violations,” she said.

“I am bringing this to the attention of the commanders so that they can ensure the rights of women and girls are upheld consistently,” she added.

A lot more needs to be done to ensure that human rights violations across South Sudan are eliminated. But such small steps and responses go a long way to bring desired change.