COMMITTEE FOR NATIONAL
HEALING, PEACE AND RECONCILIATION (CNHPR)
JUBA - The Committee for National
Healing, Peace and Reconciliation (CNHPR) in collaboration with South Sudan
Peace and Reconciliation Commission (SSPRC) and Specialised Committee on Peace
and Reconciliation in the National Legislative Assembly (SCPR/NLA) held a two
day Women Consultation Workshop with the main aim of understanding and
incorporating the views of women in the process of peace and reconciliation in
South Sudan.
The two day workshop held under the
theme “Women as Agents of Change’attracted over thirty seven
women from various organizations which included religious, entrepreneurs,
journalists and lawyers groups among others. The forum explored the roles and
duties Women can play while sharing their views on how they can at all times
observe neutrality in the face of the prevailing situation in the country.
The Secretary General of Committee
for National Healing, Peace and Reconciliation Dr. Bernard Suwa said that due
to the current crisis in the country, women have to be involved in the search
for a long lasting peace. He urged women to play their role in the national
healing and reconciliation process and to be able to change the bad history of
bloodshed and suffering to a history of brotherhood and peaceful coexistence.
The participants shared their views
and concerns on the causes and way forward in regard to the current conflict that
has shattered the country. ‘I was born during war, grew up in war and now
likely to produce and raise my children in war, is this going to be the trend
for South Sudanese? Has South Sudan become a land of misery, bloodshed and
suffering’ lamented Gladys Kiden, one of the participants at the consultative
forum.
She urged women to take the lead in
making peace possible in South Sudan. “It’s time for us women to wake up and
bring out the brain and show the love we have for our country, we need to work
hand in hand and protect each other” explained Gladys. She further advised women to work together and
advocate for better leadership saying that what happened on the 15th December 2013 is a turning point for women to know and
advocate for their rights.
In his keynote speech, His Grace
Archbishop Daniel Deng Bul the Chairperson of the Committee for National
Healing Peace and Reconciliation (CNHPR) called on women to spearhead the peace
process by embracing unity and shunning divisions based on political and tribal
differences. He told women that there is need for all South Sudanese to put
together their minds and explore a way out of the current crisis.
Archbishop Daniel Deng also
underscored the importance of dialogue, adding that people need to come
together and discuss issues that will help correct the past for a better future
instead of prizing the past and playing blame games.
“If we don’t engage in dialogue, it
will be very difficult for us to bring the current crisis to an end. If we
don’t speak together, somebody will take the honors and speak on our behalf and
this will never bring lasting peace and that’s why we have formed a platform to
work together and speak the same language, the language of peace” emphasized Archbishop
Daniel Deng.
The women came up with suggestions
that can help arrest the current situation facing the country. The suggestions
which are directly to the government include training and professionalizing the
army by creating standard military training colleges, taking military barracks
out of civilian residential areas, transforming civil service and
infrastructural development among others.
Archbishop
Daniel Deng Mobilizing the Community in Greater Yirol, Lakes State for Peace
Mobilizing for
Peace in the Greater Yirol On March 29th, in Yirol, Lakes State Archbishop Daniel Deng Bul
informed the greater Yirol community
(both east and
west Yiro counties) about the future
plans of the Committee for National Healing, Peace and Reconciliation (CNHPR). Among those who attended included
church leaders, government officials (including executive director Machuror
Anyieth from Yirol West, executive
director Ajuong Nhial of Yirol East etc.), two paramount chiefs, civil society,
and many more totaling at approximately 1,500 people.
His Grace gave a brief history of his
past experiences on the subject of peace and reconciliation in South Sudan
(2012 Jonglei peace agreement, meeting with George Athore etc.), and his recent
appointment as the chairman of CNHPR by presidential decree.
He then went on to describe the
organizational structure of the committee (executive members, state
representation, special interest groups and state subcommittees, etc.). He
explained CNHPR had faced financial challenges in the past but still have
undertaken many accomplishments (meeting in Kuron, established national
secretariat) despite facing financial difficulties.
Paramount Chief
of Yirol West Andrew Madut Addressing the Congregation
His Grace spoke about the future
mobilization process that will take place throughout Lakes State and the entire
nation. CNHPR intends get to the root causes to the conflicts that trouble
southerners by asking the people themselves what is troubling them. “For
example, here in Yirol the paramount chief will organize the communities to
come talk about issues facing the community internal and externally” (eloping,
murder, etc.). CNHPR plans to train 50 peace mobilizers in Lakes state to
facilitate community level consultations, which in sequence will reach the
payam, county state, and national levels to create a national agenda for
reconciliation.
It was described that as the
communities discuss there histories together they will begin to talk about
forms of justice to right some of the wrongs in the past. There are many
traditions in South Sudan that can be utilized and document to serve various
types of traditional justice that will work at alongside of “government
mandated justice”.
His Grace then to discussed the
history of conflict in the country. He explained that since the creation of
Sudan people of the Southern region of Sudan have not ben allowed to come
together, outside forces have persistently divided the citizens for a longtime
(e.g. colonialism, Arabs, etc.). When the people of the country finally
received their freedom in 2011 they were left traumatized and did not know how
to
speak with one voice and move in one
direction. In the recent crisis of Southerners fighting Southerners. “It is
time that we put this to and end
we need to all talk about what has happened and move forward to peace so our
county can develop”.
The congregation dancing and singing
enthusiastically followed the Archbishops speech.
Archbishop closed the meeting with a
brief message. He thanked everyone for allowing him to peace and said that if
the greater Yirol and Bor untied hands the center of South Sudan would be in
peace and the peace would spread to the rest of the country.
Dinka and Nuer
pastors form an alliance toward Peace and Reconciliation
Dinka and Nuer pastors in a
discussion session during the workshop, facilitated by Archbishop Daniel Deng
JUBA: The
Committee for National Healing, Peace and Reconciliation (CNHPR) held a two day
workshop which brought together pastors from Dinka and Nuer communities to
discuss ways of coming together to lead the process of peace and reconciliation
among their respective Communities.
The two-day workshop which was held
under the theme “building the spirit of trust among the Dinka and Nuer pastors”
was convened by the Chairperson of CNHPR Archbishop Dr. Daniel Deng Bul and
attended by senior clergies from mostly three denominations of; South Sudan
Presbyterian Evangelical (SSPEC), The Episcopal Church of South Sudan and South
Sudan (ECSSS) and the Presbyterian Church of South Sudan (PCOSS). The Moderator
of the Presbyterian Church of South Sudan Rev. James Par was among the
participants.
The event was an important
opportunity for Church leaders to discuss the impact of the current crisis, to
hear first-hand the plight on the IDP communities, and to explore how best to
respond.
As an agenda on its strategic
planning for the process of Peace and Reconciliation, the Committee for
National Healing, Peace and Reconciliation encourages partners like the church
leaders to step up mobilization efforts towards a nationwide peace and
reconciliation process.
The Committee called on the pastors
to build trust among themselves so that they can effectively lead the process
of Peace and Reconciliation.
While addressing 42 pastors at the
workshop, Dr. Daniel Deng said that the church has to speak the truth about the
targeted and tribal killings carried out on both sides of Nuer and Dinka
communities during the crisis. He called on all parties to the conflict to
accept that the church is neutral and has to be trusted and recognized as a
mediator in the process of peace.
“We have to speak the truth that Nuer
and Dinka have committed atrocities against each other. Atrocities have been
committed on both communities and we the Church are not party to what happened.
We have to be the mediators to bring peace to our communities.” Said Archbishop
Deng, adding that the people being killed are the church congregations and
therefore, the church should be concerned.
Archbishop Deng also advised the
pastors to make peace a locally made product and not to allow their communities
to be used as projects by some external elements that come in the name of peace
and yet may not really bring peace to the people.
Rev. Paul Bol Kuel of the
Presbyterian Church said that the liberation and independence of this nation
happened once and for all as a gift from God to the people of South Sudan, and
whoever is thinking of another liberation is just planning to destroy the
country.
Rev. Peter Joh of the Episcopal
Church of South Sudan and Sudan also maintained a spiritual position of gospel
campaigns to preach the word of God as the only way to end hostilities among
the South Sudanese communities.
During the two day discussion,
pastors discussed and agreed on a number resolutions and modalities that should
be employed to facilitate the process of peace and reconciliation.
Among these resolutions, pastors
agreed to form an ad-hoc committee that will lead the process of peace and
reconciliation among the Nuer and Dinka communities. A pastors committee
comprising of seven members from both Nuer and Dinka communities was formed and
will take the lead in conducting consultative meetings with government
officials, IDPs and their respective communities.
In a quest for peace in the country,
the pastors agreed to lead a peaceful marching in Juba and other areas under
South Sudan Council of Churches to denounce use of violence as a means to
resolve political differences.
In his closing remarks, Archbishop Deng told the pastors that he
had heard what the church leaders from the two communities had to say, and that
CNPHR will work to support them and the Seven Member Committee in promoting
national peace and reconciliation.
