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UN PhotoSOUTH SUDAN / CIVILIAN-MILITARY WORKSHOP
STORY: SOUTH SUDAN/ CIVILIAN-MILITARY WORKSHOP
TRT : 3 :20
SOURCE : UNMISS
RESTRICTIONS : NONE
LANGUAGES: ENGLISH/ARABIC/NATS
DATELINE: 08 JULY 2025, WAU, SOUTH SUDAN
FILE - 2 SEPTEMBER 2018, MUNDRI, SOUTH SUDAN
1. Various shots, SSPDF
8 JULY 2025, WAU, SOUTH SUDAN
2. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Seida Aruno, Wau Resident:
“We still have a problem with people in the remote areas, soldiers stationed in those areas and on the borders, who don’t know about human rights. Because we haven’t reached those regions, they might commit violations. Here, I know where to go and what my rights are, but the ordinary person still doesn’t know where to go.”
FILE - 9 NOVEMBER 2017, MUNDRI, SOUTH SUDAN
3. Various shots, SSPDF
8 JULY 2025, WAU, SOUTH SUDAN
4. SOUNDBITE (English) Anees Ahmed, UNMISS Chief, Rule of Law:
“We are trying to ensure that this presence happens across the country, but more importantly in hotspots. So, one of the important things that UNMISS has been doing is to ensure that it goes, either before, which is more important so as to prevent crimes, but when crimes happen, after those crimes, to locations where these crimes happen with the civil society’s participation to ensure that these crimes are reported and then they are taken through the appropriate justice chain, either civilian or military, for appropriate prosecution or investigation.”
8 JULY 2025, WAU, SOUTH SUDAN
5. Various shots, the delegates in the hall
6. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Seida Aruno, Wau Resident:
“This workshop builds trust so that I know where to go without fear if I face a similar problem. During the war, citizens no longer wanted to see a soldier carrying a weapon, because when you saw one, you saw him as someone against you, when in fact, he is someone who has been given the mandate to protect you as a citizen.”
7. Various shots, judges and people at the workshop
8. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Col. Mayel Jek, Military Justice Deputy Director, South Sudan People’s Defence Forces:
“We encourage dialogue between civilians and the military in open spaces like this so that everyone can express their opinion. This also sends a message to the public that the policy of the General Command, the directives of the President of the Republic, and the Chief of Staff all emphasize that the army must fully commit to combating anything that could harm the reputation of the military.”
FILE - 12 JUNE 2019, MARIDI, SOUTH SUDAN
9. Med shot, SSPDF sitting in the car
FILE - 29 JUNE 2017, MUNDRI, SOUTH SUDAN
10. Wide shot, SSPDF sitting
FILE - 9 NOVEMBER 2017, MUNDRI, SOUTH SUDAN
11. Med shot, UNMISS and Civilians
As violence against civilians escalates to record levels in South Sudan, the already fragile relationship between the country’s military and those they are supposed to protect is stretched to breaking point. Communities continue to be subjected to aerial bombardment and caught in the crossfire of military confrontations, losing their lives and forced to flee their homes.
A recent report by the United Nations Mission in South Sudan documented the highest number of civilians affected by violence in any three-month period since 2020 and identified conventional parties to the conflict as increasingly responsible for these incidents. Rather than being as a source of stability, the military is now often seen as responsible for growing insecurity and gross violations of human rights.
SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Seida Aruno, Wau Resident:
“We still have a problem with people in the remote areas, soldiers stationed in those areas and on the borders, who don’t know about human rights. Because we haven’t reached those regions, they might commit violations. Here, I know where to go and what my rights are, but the ordinary person still doesn’t know where to go.”
The UN peacekeeping mission, UNMISS, is working intensively to help prevent conflict as well as ensure accountability for violence against civilians through the deployment of mobile courts and strengthening the justice system more broadly.
SOUNDBITE (English) Anees Ahmed, UNMISS Chief, Rule of Law:
“We are trying to ensure that this presence happens across the country, but more importantly in hotspots. So, one of the important things that UNMISS has been doing is to ensure that it goes, either before, which is more important so as to prevent crimes, but when crimes happen, after those crimes, to locations where these crimes happen with the civil society’s participation to ensure that these crimes are reported and then they are taken through the appropriate justice chain, either civilian or military, for appropriate prosecution or investigation.”
UNMISS is also helping to build trust and confidence by bringing together community and military representatives to discuss the challenges and develop action plans for improving relations, including during a recent session in Wau in the Western Bahr El Ghazal region of South Sudan.
SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Seida Aruno, Wau Resident:
“This workshop builds trust so that I know where to go without fear if I face a similar problem. During the war, citizens no longer wanted to see a soldier carrying a weapon, because when you saw one, you saw him as someone against you, when in fact, he is someone who has been given the mandate to protect you as a citizen.”
The workshop followed the conduct of a General Courts Martial by the South Sudan People’s Defence Forces (SSPDF) in Wau, supported by UNMISS and the Government of Norway, which resulted in the conviction of nine military members for various crimes. This initiative demonstrates some progress is being made towards accountability among the armed forces.
SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Col. Mayel Jek, Military Justice Deputy Director, South Sudan People’s Defence Forces:
“We encourage dialogue between civilians and the military in open spaces like this so that everyone can express their opinion. This also sends a message to the public that the policy of the General Command, the directives of the President of the Republic, and the Chief of Staff all emphasize that the army must fully commit to combating anything that could harm the reputation of the military.”
Despite these efforts, soldiers and civilians are likely to continue experiencing an uneasy co-existence until the parties to the Revitalized Peace Agreement unify their respective forces and deploy them across the country, a commitment which they have failed to meet for the past seven years.
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