UNMISS conducts peace awareness campaign in Mapel

(radiotamazuj.org)

The United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) on Friday conducted a peace awareness campaign in Mapel town of Jur River County in Western Bahr el Ghazal state.

The campaign brought together youth, women, intellectuals, senior politicians, and government officials led by the state minister for peacebuilding and cultural dance troops including the Balanda from Bazia of Wau County and the Dinka group from Marial-Bai.

This is the third event after UNMISS launched the first peace awareness event in Marial-bai on 25 September and the second in Baggari on 27 September 2023.

The events aim to restore peace and the social fabric that the community in Western Bahr el Ghazal lost during the conflict that rocked the state and the rest of the country between 2013 and 2017.

Addressing the gathering, the UNMISS’ Public Information Assistant in Wau, Al-Hai Nemaya, said the Mission is involved in the protection of civilians among other things.

“We (UNMISS) are involved in the protection of civilians, creating a conducive environment to facilitate the delivery of humanitarian assistance, three is to support the peace agreement, and lastly, monitoring and interrogation of human rights abuses,” said Nemaya.    

For her part, the state’s peacebuilding minister, Monica Louis Mawien, appreciated UNMISS’ efforts in organizing the peace event in Mapel.

“We have come to Mapel today and this is not the first event, we started this peace awareness in Marial-Bai followed by Baggari, and today we are in Mapel. Congratulations to the people of Mapel,” she said. “Peace is not easy, the United Nations, national NGOs, and UNMISS have joined hands with the state government for this. I congratulate the UN for standing with the state government in promoting peace in the state so that we can spread peace awareness to bomas, counties, and payams because peace begins with me, my children, my relatives, and the community.”

Mawien appreciated the people in Mapel for being united for peace and stability in the area.

“Continue with the same spirit of unity and peace and as we have witnessed here today, there is peace in Mapel,” Minister Mawien added.

Meanwhile, Abraham Dimo Cirillo, an SPLM MP representing Mapel Payam in the Western Bahr el Ghazal State Legislative Assembly, appealed to UNMISS to intervene and rehabilitate Hope Primary School in Mapel which has no roof.

“I want to make a special appeal to UNMISS to unite us in Mapel by renovating Hope Primary School whose roof was blown off by the wind. This is my appeal to UNMISS,” he said. “I am quite sure that there are it can be done because even the renovation of this Ireneo Primary School was done by UNMISS through a quick impact project. Let the quick impact project come back to help us again.”