{"id":40825,"date":"2025-10-29T15:48:21","date_gmt":"2025-10-29T13:48:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/?p=40825"},"modified":"2025-10-29T15:48:21","modified_gmt":"2025-10-29T13:48:21","slug":"sspdf-must-serve-protect-and-respect-the-people-koang","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/2025\/10\/29\/sspdf-must-serve-protect-and-respect-the-people-koang\/","title":{"rendered":"SSPDF must serve, protect and respect the people-Koang"},"content":{"rendered":"

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

Deputy Defense Minister, James Koang has urged the South Sudan People\u2019s Defense Forces to uphold human rights, protect civilians and embody discipline, service and respect as core values of a people-centred national army.<\/p>\n

Speaking at the opening of a two-day workshop, Koang pledged to embed human rights and international humanitarian law into the SSPDF\u2019s training programs and legal frameworks.<\/p>\n

The workshop organized by Hold the Child for officers from the army, police, and prison services, aimed at strengthening knowledge and practical application of human rights, child protection, and international humanitarian law.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are working hard to enhance discipline and accountability within our forces and integrate human rights, international laws, and other international protocols into our training programmes and into our constitution and other laws so that every soldier and officer understands the rights and responsibilities,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

He stressed that the SSPDF, as the successor to the liberation struggle, must continue the legacy of its founding leaders by ensuring its actions reflect a commitment to serving and respecting the people of South Sudan.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe must ensure that our actions reflect the vision of our founding leaders; a vision of an army that serves, protects, and respects the people of South Sudan,\u201d Koang said.<\/p>\n

He described the workshop as an opportunity for officers to engage with human rights principles practically, sharing experiences and learning from each other.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis workshop provides us with a viable platform to share and learn from one another and to build a common understanding of how human rights and international humanitarian law can be implemented in our daily duties,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

Deng Machuor Jereboam, Executive Director of Hold The Child noted that organised forces play a critical role in maintaining law and order, and their engagement in human rights and child protection is essential and highlighted the practical goals of the workshop.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis training is designed to deepen understanding of human rights and humanitarian law, and to provide practical guidance on how those principles can be applied in your daily duties,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

William Othwonh, Chairperson of the Standing Specialized Committee on Human Rights and Humanitarian Affairs in the Transitional National Legislative Assembly, reminded officers that human rights are enshrined in South Sudan\u2019s Constitution, citing the rights to fair trial, access to justice, and protection from arbitrary arrest and torture.<\/p>\n

He urged security personnel to respect civic space and freedom of expression. \u201cDon\u2019t prevent people let them talk,\u201d Othwonh said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe cannot suffer again in your hands. You liberated us; now protect us,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

Koang concluded by announcing plans for a nationwide rollout of similar workshops to ensure that all security personnel across South Sudan are equipped with the knowledge and tools to uphold human rights.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Alan Clement Deputy Defense Minister, James Koang has urged the South Sudan People\u2019s Defense Forces to uphold human rights, protect civilians and embody discipline, service and respect as core values of a people-centred national army. Speaking at the opening of a two-day workshop, Koang pledged to embed human rights[Read More…]<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":40826,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[80,79],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-40825","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-national","category-news"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/ssspfd.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40825","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=40825"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40825\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":40827,"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40825\/revisions\/40827"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/40826"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=40825"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=40825"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=40825"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}