Lawmakers must enact laws to mitigate communal violence, says CEPO

JUBA – A South Sudan activist is appealing to the country’s parliament to enact laws that would make it possible for the government to mitigate sub-national violence instigated by cattle rustling and land dispute.

Ethnic and intercommunal violence has been on the rise in most parts of the country killing hundreds since the start of the year. Violence has also resulted in the displacement of innocent civilians.

In a statement extended to Sudans Post this week, the Executive Director of the Community Empowerment for Progress Organization (CEPO), Edmund Yakani, noted the deteriorating security situation in the states.

“The trend of armed violence is on the rise and it is creating serious displacement were majority of the internally displaced persons describe their displacement due to inter-communal violence as painful because of armed inter-communal violence,” Yakani’s statement reads in part.

The prominent South Sudanese activist further said that his organization “strongly condemns the deadly inter-communal violence such as the recent violence in Leer, Wonduruba, Magwi, Mugali, Mowgo and Duk Padit among others.”

Yakani went on to stress that the world’s youngest country lacks the capacity to mitigate deadly conflicts that have resulted in the killing and displacement of civilians and said that the Leer violence investing team has failed to come up with findings.

“CEPO views that the government lacks the required capacity for mitigating these armed deadly communal conflicts,” Yakani said.

“Meanwhile the president investigation committee which was established to investigate Leer violence has failed to meet their given deadline for reporting their investigation plus other teams like that of Ngok Dinka and Twic County,” he added.

The statement said that the group had allocated “enough funds towards seeking solutions to the deadly inter-communal violence across the country since the independence of South Sudan in July 2011. The efforts never created concrete solutions for resolving the continuous armed deadly communal violence.”

Yakani said “it is for a long term gain and benefit to enact some of laws for concrete resolution of the armed deadly communal violence among our various communities in South Sudan. CEPO will be engaging the legislative leadership of Central Equatoria State on enactment of legislation on cattle migration including other triggers for deadly inter-communal violence.”

He further stressed that “absence of legislation on mitigation of deadly communal violence at the state government level made it for states to response effectively to matters of deadly violence among our communities. Based on this, the CEPO will be lobbying and supporting enactment of legislation relate to deadly communal violence resolution at state government level.”