The United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) has held a workshop with students of the Bahr el-Ghazal University in Wau on its role and mandate in the country.

The one-day forum conducted by the mission’s Communications and Public Information Section was attended by more than 100 students, who were given a better understanding of the work and activities of the mission and the challenges it faces in the country .

The Vice Chancellor of the University, Professor Samson Wasara, welcomed the forum and said it helped clear misconceptions about the mission’s mandate.

“When you organize workshops like this one, it’s enlightens our young people,” he said.

The professor stated that his university is working hard to build the capacity of the students not only academically but also to empower them by increasing their general understanding of their nation.

“It’s an extracurricular activity not only for the university but also for the nation at large,” Professor Samson said, adding that this kind of UNMISS workshop should be considered as part of civic education.

On her part, the UNMISS Head of Field office in Wau, Winnie Babihuga, said that engaging with various South Sudanese stakeholders and receiving their feedback firsthand is helpful in identifying areas where UNMISS can work more closely with communities.

She urged the students to uphold their integrity and focus on promoting peace.

The students asked some questions about the mission including why the expected arrival of a 4,000-troop strong Regional Protection Force (RPF) is needed in the country, and what “regional” actually means in the context of RPF. On the other hand, a general view was that the mandate of UNMISS should be “strengthened”, particularly when it comes to the protection of civilians.

The students, who were drawn from all departments of the university, expressed that UNMISS needs to improve its working relation with state authorities in a bid to increase its presence and operations in remote areas of the country.

“Such presence would help increasing confidence among local populations”, one student remarked.

UNMISS Civil Affairs Division (CAD) and Child Protection Unit (CPU) officers also informed the students about their work,. CAD focused on its role in protecting civilians and CPU on monitoring and reporting mechanisms for cases of various kinds of child abuse, including the recruitment of children by armed forces.