One of Unity oil fields in Unity state - Credit | Joakino Francis/Eye Radio | 12 October 2010

As Juba is set to host oil and energy conference Thursday, a coalition of civil society organizations is calling on the government and key players in the oil sector to protect communities in the oil-producing areas.

The Civil Society Coalition on Natural Resources also appealed to the companies to respect South Sudan laws and exercise their corporate social responsibilities to pay back to the communities

This year’s theme: “Engine of East African Growth” aims to position South Sudan as the link of petroleum exploration and production, innovation, and energy cooperation for the East and Central Africa regions.

The conference is expected to draw investors to explore and engage in what the government referred to as upstream, midstream, mining, power generation and distribution, services, and infrastructure sectors.

Charles Judo, the Chairperson of the Civil Society Coalition on Natural Resources suggested that: “There is a need to protect the South Sudanese communities in the oil-producing areas,

The call also comes a week after a baby was born with its intestines outside and other deformities and died days later after it was referred to Juba from Ruweng Administrative for medical care.

Several of these incidents were reported from different oil-producing areas of children born with deformities.

“The second one is to initiate corporate social responsibility as a payback to those communities as well  ” to respect the laws of South Sudan by all oil stakeholders, that is our call,” Judo said.

Lastly, Judo suggested that:  “there is a need to invest oil revenue in economic infrastructure development and that is part of what we have been calling for.”

South Sudan is endowed with verse natural resources, most are untapped.

The conference is viewed as an opportunity for investors to build industries that are suitable for South Sudan.