UPPER NILE- Maintaining peaceful and productive relations between thousands of internally displaced persons residing together in a Protection of Civilians site can be challenging.

As the only such protection site managed by the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS), the one in Malakal is no exception, which means that its newly elected Community Coordination Committee needs to be brought up to speed as quickly as possible. What roles and responsibilities do committee members have, and what is their mandate?

Answering such questions was the main objective of a two one-day induction workshops for a total of 90 relevant stakeholders.

“All community leaders and residents here must be fully aware of the ground rules set by the peacekeeping mission and its partners, otherwise it becomes difficult to keep a harmonious atmosphere within the protection site,” said UNMISS Protection, Transition and Reintegration Officer Generose Nzeyimana, adding that new workshops on coordination issues are held every year, when a new executive committee takes over the helm.

Josephina James, a women’s representative on the committee, was pleased with the learning opportunity and pledged to share her new insights with others.

“This workshop has clearly defined my role as a chairlady and the roles each community member must play in combating and reporting crimes. Gaining knowledge about camp rules and regulations to keep everyone safe was another important part of this experience,” she said.

Fellow committee member Omojwok Philip shared those sentiments, affirming that he now has a good understanding of what is expected of him, not least with regards to the way the coordination committee will work alongside the peacekeeping mission and humanitarian partners.