{"id":39748,"date":"2025-09-16T13:03:02","date_gmt":"2025-09-16T11:03:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/?p=39748"},"modified":"2025-09-16T13:03:02","modified_gmt":"2025-09-16T11:03:02","slug":"tnla-adopts-declaration-of-peace-cessation-of-war","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/2025\/09\/16\/tnla-adopts-declaration-of-peace-cessation-of-war\/","title":{"rendered":"TNLA adopts declaration of peace, cessation of war"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Alan Clement<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

The Transitional National Legislative Assembly has adopted a landmark motion on the Declaration of Peace and Cessation of War (DPCW) signaling South Sudan\u2019s continued commitment to peace, human rights, and non violence.<\/p>\n

The motion, presented by Bona Deng Lawrence, Chairperson of the Standing Specialized Committee on Peace and Reconciliation, sought to enshrine the DPCW as a national resolution, reinforcing South Sudan\u2019s commitment to peace, human rights, and nonviolence.<\/p>\n

The declaration, originally proclaimed by the South Korean NGO Heavenly Culture, World Peace, Restoration of Light (HWPL) in 2016, was signed by President Salva Kiir on May 15, 2024, ahead of its formal deliberation in Parliament.<\/p>\n

The motion outlined ten articles and 38 clauses, which emphasize the prohibition of force, peaceful dispute resolution, disarmament, and the institutionalization of a culture of peace through education and inclusive governance and aligns with South Sudan\u2019s Transitional Constitution (2011), the UN Charter, the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, and previous peace agreements including the CPA (2005) and R-ARCSS (2018).<\/p>\n

Before being finally adopted, the motion sparked vigorous debate among lawmakers who expressed a mixt of support and caution during the 15th<\/sup> Ordinary Sitting of the TNLA on Monday September 15, 2025.<\/p>\n

Bol Joseph Agau of Lakes State questioned the document\u2019s origin, noting that it stems from a South Korean civil society organization rather than the UN or African bodies, and raised concerns about procedural approvals and enforceability.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis document is not known by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation. How it found its way here is questionable,\u201d he said, expressing concern over its enforceability and international recognition.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Executive did not discuss it. How do you give it to the President before scrutiny?\u201d he asked.<\/p>\n

David Yien Bilieth highlighted the ongoing challenges of implementing peace in South Sudan, pointing to years of conflict and emphasizing that adoption of the DPCW should leave room for inclusivity and reconciliation.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you want to make peace, don\u2019t demand 100 per cent loss. Leave room for other parties to come in,\u201d he said suggesting that other parties should potentially be given at least a 40 per cent representation in governance.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are talking about peace, but people are not abiding by it. There is a need for the spirit of harmonization and togetherness,\u201d he urged.<\/p>\n

However, other lawmakers, including Prof. Peter Aduok and Bol Pio, stressed the urgent need for peace. \u201cAll we need is peace. We cannot afford to remain behind,\u201d Prof. Aduok said,<\/p>\n

while Bol Pio of Northern Bahr el Ghazal framed the declaration as a beacon of hope.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen our people hear that the House is declaring peace, this is a hope. All of us here sign the declaration for peace,\u201d he affirmed.<\/p>\n

The Assembly\u2019s recommendations include promoting peace-oriented governance, repurposing military spending for development, expanding peace education, and establishing a multi-sectoral task force and parliamentary body for peace advocacy and research.<\/p>\n

Lawmakers noted that the adoption of the DPCW is a symbolic but significant step in embedding a culture of peace into South Sudan\u2019s national identity and governance, emphasizing that peace is not only about ending conflict but also about sustaining harmony across communities.<\/p>\n

Questions still remain about its implementation and integration into South Sudan\u2019s broader peace architecture but nonetheless, the resolution represents a landmark effort to embed peace into the nation\u2019s identity and governance.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Alan Clement The Transitional National Legislative Assembly has adopted a landmark motion on the Declaration of Peace and Cessation of War (DPCW) signaling South Sudan\u2019s continued commitment to peace, human rights, and non violence. The motion, presented by Bona Deng Lawrence, Chairperson of the Standing Specialized Committee on Peace[Read More…]<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":39751,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[79,4,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-39748","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-politics","category-uncategorized"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/PARLIMENT.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39748","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=39748"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39748\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":39752,"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39748\/revisions\/39752"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/39751"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=39748"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=39748"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=39748"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}