A group of young in Lakes State discuss issues affecting youth in contributing positively to the society. (Photo CIDA)

Lakes State government has managed to restore stability after years of bloody communal violence, but local youth leaders said the relative calm is no guarantee and urge permanent solutions to transform young people from the path of violence to peace.

Pakeui Marial, Lakes State Youth Union Secretary for Information and a youth representative from Yirol West County, called on the national government to empower young people through economic activities as an alternative to violent means of acquiring resources.

Mr. Marial also said South Sudanese youth must be comprehensively disarmed and involved in peace initiatives and sustainable activities.

“We require the partners and the government to disarm the armed youth such that they remain as the mere civilians not only in Lakes State but South Sudan as whole,” he said.

The youth leader urged the government to gear the youth from culture of violence to promotion of peace through sports and cultural activities at states and national level.

“We want the government to disconnect the youth from all these arm possessions and the youth instead should be involved in community activities and affairs,” Marial further said.

“We want the government to engage youth in peacebuilding by promoting cultural activities like regional competition in games and sport.”

Apart from Lakes, many parts of South Sudan including Upper Nile, Jonglei, Pibor, Warrap and Abyei have been plagued by subnational conflicts attributed to heavily armed ethnic militia groups.

The United Nations recently said despite considerable progress towards peace with a reduction in direct conflict between parties in South Sudan, sub-national and localized violence continue to occur in many parts of the country which continues to severely affect the country’s progress.

On December 11, 2023, the Community Initiative for Development Association, with support from UNESCO, engaged young people in Lakes State on the development strategy – Youth, Peace, and Security for South Sudan.

The youth-led peace consultation conducted in Rumbek city was intended to gain a deeper understanding of the challenges faced by young people in participating in peace processes within their communities.

It was also meant to gather information needed for the development of the national strategy on Youth, Peace, and Security for South Sudan.

The consultation explored opportunities for realizing young people’s meaningful participation in shaping a peaceful and prosperous country.

Mr. Marial further appealed to the government to avail job opportunities for young people by creating a conducive environment to attract investors and private sectors into the country.

“We need the government to provide employment opportunity, the government should also bring in the investors so that they employ these youth that are standard about job, both intellectual and those youth in the villages because they can work as handmen,” he told Eye Radio.

In November 2022, the government in Lakes called on the 6th Governors’ Forum to adopt a general disarmament resolution to curtail sub-national violence.

After his appointment as governor in 2021, General Rin Tueny, the former Military Intelligence director promised to end cattle-related and inter-communal conflicts that have rocked the state for years.

This was followed by statewide crackdown on highway robberies, inter-communal violence and banditry which led to the arrest of a number of people.

However, the former state minister of information, William Kwoji said the relative stability is temporary because the civilians are still heavily armed.

On her part, Ojupaku Jamila, Peace Monitor with the Wulu County-based group deemed the South Sudan Peace and Reconciliation, emphasized the need to protect girls and women during armed conflict.

Ms. Jamila added that there is a need to provide health services, including psychological support, and to hold perpetrators of crimes against women and girls accountable.

“We can protect the young girls during the armed conflict, the first way is to make sure we follow the rule of law by brining those who committed the crime to book and convict them by putting them to the jail, bring them to the court.”

“The survivors should be rescued, like maybe, taken to the hospital in the first place. If they are raped especially the girls, they should be taken to the hospital and the doctors should attend to them,” she told Eye Radio during an interview.   

Meanwhile, Grace John Kenyi, Project Manager for Community Initiative for Development Association, stated that the Youth, Peace, and Security for South Sudan will enhance youth participation in decision-making.

“The expected outcome of the Youth leading peace project is to see that there are increased participation of young women and young men through a youth lead strategy on youth, peace and security.”

Ms. John said her organization will go ahead to consult young people in other parts of the country to enable them to contribute positively to the development of the Youth, Peace, and Security strategy for South Sudan.

“The consultation on the national strategies on youth peace and security is national process that has started two weeks ago CIDA has been in Wau, Western Bahr el Ghazal and in Warrap for the same processes and CIDA plans to reach out to the other remaining ten project location properly next Year.”

In 2015, the UN Security Council adopted resolution 2250 and calls on the members states to increase representation of youth in decision-making at all levels.

The resolution also calls for measures that support local youth peace initiatives and indigenous processes for conflict resolution, and that involve youth in the implementation mechanisms of peace agreements.

It also urged the member states to facilitate an inclusive and enabling environment in which youth actors, including youth from different backgrounds, are recognized and provided with adequate support to implement violence prevention activities and support social cohesion.

“We cannot maintain peace without youth, so it is good for us to empower our youth, we need to feed them with the importance of peace,” said Juzella Agar Juma, Director General for Culture, Youth and Sports in Lakes State.

“We need to orient our youth that this nation, for us to build it, is up to them. They need to bring peace and when we have peace, everything can be easy in South Sudan because peace is a mother of anything good that a nation needs it, anybody or any living thing need it.”

Daniel Makuei, the Secretary for External Affairs and Policy Relations representing Rumbek North at the State Youth Union emphasized the need to involve young people in local peace initiatives.

Makuei added that youth should also be empowered to engage in business and productive activities in the community.

“We want to be participant in decision-making like peace negotiation and implementation, so that the youth of the Country can be recognized in all representation whether in government or private sector,” Makuei stated.

“The youth in the state or in the county can be given support so that they can support themselves to open micro businesses and engage in the sport activities.”

The consultation on Youth, Peace, and Security for South Sudan was held under the theme “establishing youth-led participatory and inclusive national and states mechanisms for implementation of UNSCR 2250 on youth peace and security South Sudan.”