The Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General is encouraging police officers serving with the United Nations Mission in South Sudan to gear their work towards supporting the implementation of the country’s revitalized peace agreement.

“Ask what you can do to support the new peace agreement. Be innovative and try to do whatever you can to implement the UNMISS mandate, while repositioning yourself in terms of the new peace agreement,” said Moustapha Soumaré, the DSRSG in charge of political affairs at UNMISS.

He was speaking to an audience of more than 50 UN Police Officers (UNPOL) serving at bases across South Sudan, who came together at the mission’s headquarters in Juba for a workshop to review their quarterly progress.

The three-day workshop aims to identify how the work of UNPOL can best be structured to help build a durable peace in the country in light of the new agreement signed by warring parties in Addis Ababa last month.  

“We want to hear from the mission leadership, what you foresee in the future and how UNPOL can align with that vision,” explained UNMISS Police Commissioner, Unaisi Bolatolu-Vuniwaqa.

Over the course of the next week, UNPOL senior management, police coordinators of the six Protection of Civilian sites run by the peacekeeping mission, and UNPOL team leaders will be discussing key challenges facing their work in South Sudan.

These challenges include preventing gender-based violence, protecting human rights, community policing, and providing support to the South Sudanese National Police Service.

“The best peace agreements are the ones that have been strong in implementation,” said Mr. Soumaré in closing.

The peacekeeping mission’s UN Police force is demonstrating their commitment to doing just that: gearing their work to ensure that the path towards durable peace is built on solid ground.