As South Sudan moves closer to the long-awaited general elections, one issue stands above all others in determining the country’s future: the full implementation of the security arrangements outlined in the revitalised peace agreement.<\/p>\n
Without a unified, professional, and accountable security sector, the aspirations for peaceful elections, national stability, and sustainable development will remain difficult to achieve.<\/p>\n
Security arrangements were never intended to be a mere political commitment on paper. They are the backbone of the peace agreement, designed to unify former rival forces into a single national army and other organised forces that serve all South Sudanese without political or ethnic bias.<\/p>\n
Years after the signing of the peace deal, progress has been made in training unified forces, but deployment, graduation, logistical support, and institutional reforms continue to lag.<\/p>\n
The government must now treat the implementation of these arrangements as an urgent national priority. Citizens deserve to live in communities free from violence, cattle raids, revenge attacks, and political insecurity.<\/p>\n
The recurring clashes in several parts of the country demonstrate that delayed security reforms carry a high human cost, displacing families, disrupting livelihoods, and undermining confidence in the peace process.<\/p>\n
With elections approaching, security becomes even more critical. Political parties, electoral officials, civil society organisations, journalists, and voters all need an environment where they can exercise their rights without intimidation or fear.<\/p>\n
A neutral and unified security force is essential to maintaining law and order while ensuring that every citizen participates freely in the democratic process.<\/p>\n
Implementing the security arrangements also sends a powerful message to the international community that South Sudan is committed to fulfilling its peace obligations.<\/p>\n
Such commitment can strengthen confidence among development partners and encourage continued support for peacebuilding, institutional reform, and economic recovery.<\/p>\n
At the same time, security reforms should be accompanied by improved welfare for security personnel. Soldiers and police officers who receive regular salaries, adequate training, proper equipment, and decent living conditions are better positioned to protect civilians professionally and uphold the rule of law.<\/p>\n
The government should also work closely with all signatories to the peace agreement, regional guarantors, and international partners to overcome financial and logistical obstacles that have delayed implementation.<\/p>\n
Political differences should never be allowed to derail a process that is fundamental to national unity and stability.<\/p>\n
South Sudan has reached a decisive moment. The country cannot afford to postpone the implementation of key security provisions any longer.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
As South Sudan moves closer to the long-awaited general elections, one issue stands above all others in determining the country’s future: the full implementation of the security arrangements outlined in the revitalised peace agreement. Without a unified, professional, and accountable security sector, the aspirations for peaceful elections, national stability, and[Read More…]<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[88,80],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-45451","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-editorial","category-national"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45451","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\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=45451"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45451\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":45452,"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45451\/revisions\/45452"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=45451"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=45451"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=45451"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}