An armed cattle keeper walks with his cows during a seasonal migration of cattle for grazing near Tonj, South Sudan, Feb. 16, 2020. | Photo credit: VOA

The Minister of Peacebuilding Stephen Phar Kuol said on Tuesday that armed civilians can voluntarily lay down their weapons and embrace peace if the government creates a trustworthy public security.

Mr. Par was commenting on the alarming rates of communal conflicts and the government’s attempts to disarm the civil population in recent years.

He said sustainable peace can only be achieved once there is security that’s trusted by the local people.

Commenting on the incidents of inter-communal violence in parts of the country, Phar stressed the need to conduct dialogue and programs to change the mindset of those involved especially the youth.

He denounced the use of forceful disarmament, arguing that it won’t work if public security is not guaranteed.

The peacebuilding minister added that once adequate security is provided, the local people will find it convenient to surrender their guns to the government.

“We must embark on dialogue with our communities because disarming the communities also need dialogue with them,” he said.

“I don’t believe in physical forceful disarmament, and I think the role of the government must start with trust building with the communities, because it is a social contract and the key term is, let me take your guns and I will protect you. This is the fundamental issue”.

Meanwhile, Civil Society Activist Lona MereKaje said she wonders how the arms find themselves into the hands of the civilians.

“We still see sophisticated arms out there, so the questions are, does the country have control over the stockpile that they have?” she asked.

She suggested that the government establishes benchmarks before calling for the lifting of the arms embargo, saying any entry of the firearms into the country creates panic among the citizens.

“Leave alone the question of saying, lift the arms embargo, that’s another story but the question is, have we managed what we have at hand? And our fear is as civil society is that, if we keep importing more, it might be worse than today.”

“And our appeal is okay, if you have justifiable reasons, then the benchmarks are public information.”

“Are there efforts towards implementing the benchmarks before we ask about lifting the arms embargo? To ask the arms embargo helps to reduce our fear because we fear that when more arms come to the country, it will be turned towards us, it will be turned against us, and we will be the victims”.

The speakers made the remarks during the commemoration of the UN Day in Juba today.

This year’s theme is marked under the theme: “Towards Sustainable Peace and Development in South Sudan.”