South Sudan: New Perspectives For Peace

The youngest African Nation, South Sudan has reached a milestone in its recovery from civil war after graduating its first group of unified armed forces from former rival groups. On August 30, 2022, more than 50,000 fighters were integrated into the country’s army in a long-overdue graduation ceremony. The unification of forces loyal to President Salva Kiir and his rival, Vice President Riek Machar, was a key condition of the 2018 peace deal that ended the brutal five-year conflict in which nearly 40,000 people died. The ceremony in the capital Juba, held under tight security, came against a backdrop of growing frustration in the international community over delays in implementing the peace deal, as explosions of violence threaten to undo the fragile gains.
South Sudan had enjoyed relative peace since the signing of the Revitalized Peace Agreement in September 2018. This was followed by the formation of the Revitalized Transitional Government of National Unity (RTGoNU) in February 2020. Since then, the international community has been in solidarity with the people and the government of South Sudan towards making its dream of a peaceful and prosperous nation a reality. For this to be palpable, all efforts must be geared to build sustained peace as a cornerstone for nation-building, ensure access to basic services to its populace, while all stakeholders must strengthen programming and funding to programs along the Humanitarian-Development and Peace nexus. Furthermore, international campaigns, such as that of World Vision which says, “It takes a world to end violence against children” and the South Sudan version “It takes a nation to protect the future generation” which are of paramount importance in bringing peace should be vulgarised and messages disseminated in local languages.
Though earlier in the month, South Sudan’s leaders appointed to run a transitional government announced that they would remain in power two years beyond an agreed deadline, sparking international concern that the country might plunge into a large-sca...