R-JMEC urges activists to support peace implementation
The chairperson of the Reconstituted Joint Monitoring and Evaluation Commission (RJMEC), Maj Gen Charles Gituai, has appealed to civil society to campaign for the implementation of the revitalised peace agreement.
Maj. Gen. Gituai said advocating for the agreement’s contents and values would help to speed up the implementation.
He was speaking at a stakeholders’ consultative forum on the implementation of the Revitalised Peace Agreement in Bor, Jonglei State on Tuesday.
He said the more civil society understands the agreement and communicates to its people, the more effective the campaign for its implementation will be.
He said the R-ARCSS offers the best window of opportunity for sustainable peace.
“The relative advantages and potential of civil society are of paramount importance. Your knowledge, capabilities, and experience with your constituencies are invaluable. In particular, there are some key ways in which, I see your relative advantages and potential to support the implementation environment here in South Sudan,” he added.
The RJMEC boss highlighted that civil society can establish, encourage, and strengthen a complete and objective conversation between the government and the people.
“Your flexibility and potential to reach out to communities help you adapt to external changes when governments can typically be slower to react,” Maj Gen Charles stressed.
“In this approach, you establish a powerful link that bridges the space between the people and the government, and then promote the shared interests,” he added.
He reiterated that civil society can grasp and focus on where there are shared interests between the people they serve.
“Any peace process faces hurdles,” the Interim Chair said, “and civil society is an excellent early warning system.”
“You can create awareness and caution about the possibility of upsets or obstacles to implementation. In your own way, you then promote the move towards dialogue through sensitisation and awareness creation,” Gituai told civil society in Bor.
“Because of your unity of voice and purpose, your access to the grassroots, and your advocacy, which is vital to the continuous implementation of the R-ARCSS, the monitoring and evaluation of the R-ARCSS will be considerably stronger,” he stated.
The diplomat added that South Sudan faces numerous obstacles but said civil society now has a strong voice that can be heard far and wide.
