Dec 4, 2020(Nyamilepedia) — Representatives from twelve different political parties in Northern Bahr-el-Ghazal State commit to work together to implement the 2018 revitalized peace agreement.
These representatives had come together at a leadership forum organized by the United Nations Mission in South Sudan to enhance the mediation skills of these local party activists which will in turn lead to social cohesion and a sense of national identity.
“It was very good to see us, people from so many different political parties, sitting together and discussing issues of our region,” said Suzan Ediong, a representative of the African National Congress Party and one of twelve women present at the forum.
Some of these leaders called upon women involved in decision-making processes.
“I call upon all women to participate in the political activities in our country. Women are more than capable of being good politicians, and politics are not just for men,” said Nyanriak Bol Bol, a female representative of the United Sudan African Party.
Northern Bahr-el-Ghazal is one of the few South Sudan States that has remained relatively calm and peaceful.
The participating politicians were keen on pointing out the significant advantages of such tranquility: better and more civil cooperation between the political parties in the state, and an improved use of available resources to promote development and service delivery.
They recommend wider awareness raising of the content of the revitalized peace agreement, dialogue to combat tribalism and the promotion of “pro-social” behaviour in and between communities so as to continue with that trend.
Mariama Dauda, a civil affairs officer serving with the UN peacekeeping mission, considered the forum a resounding success and vowed to keep promoting social cohesion in the region.
“We shall continue to train these politicians on mediation skills and encourage national unity through transformational leadership. We firmly believe that if values of a national identity can be retained, they can lead to more fruitful cooperation and thus progress,” she said.
