South Sudanese Passport booklets handed over to the Immigration and Passport Department in 2022. | File photo

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) has highlighted the importance of understanding South Sudan’s diverse ethnic composition to ensure fair issuance of legal identities.

This message was conveyed during a workshop aimed at 45 nationality and passport officers.

David Chuma Moi, Assistant Project Officer at IOM, stressed the significance of recognizing tribal diversity, noting that issuing legal identities is a fundamental human right.

He explained, “The importance of understanding the composition of the communities in South Sudan is a key part of your mandate as the Directorate of Nationality and Passports. Issuing legal identities is a human right, and every citizen should be given an identity. We, at IOM, are committed to working with your directorate to ensure every citizen enjoys this right.”

Meanwhile, Director General Elia Costa emphasized that South Sudan is home to 64 tribes, making it essential for officers to be familiar with each tribe’s location, state, and county. This, he noted, would help prevent discrimination during document processing.

Costa suggested, “It is very important for us to know the tribes of South Sudan and their locations—states and counties—because many people are not familiar with all the tribes in the country. We need to recognize this at the beginning, and we may expand the training to include state-level workshops to further improve officers’ understanding.”

This initiative follows complaints from several communities about the difficulties they face in obtaining official documents.

These concerns have led to calls for specialized training aimed at improving service delivery. Last month, the Director General of Nationality, Civil Registration, and Passports called for specialized training for migration officers, focusing on South Sudan’s diverse ethnic communities.

The Director General emphasized the need for officers to comprehend tribal diversity to ensure fair and efficient service delivery in nationality and passport registration.

Authorities are expected to implement training programs that address concerns of discrimination and bureaucratic challenges faced by some applicants.