More constructive negotiations needed to resolve S. Sudan crisis

October 16, 2014 (KAMPALA) – A South Sudanese advocacy group in exile is urging the country’s warring parties to lay down their arms and refrain from targeting civilians.

South Sudan’s Generation Organisation (SSGO) is calling on peace campaigners to join in advocating against human rights abuses by forces loyal to the country’s rival leaders.

SSGO’s executive director, James Gajaak Koang, has called on both president Salva Kiir and his former deputy, Riek Machar Teny, to work towards reconciliation and bring an end to the bloody conflict that has divided the nation along tribal lines.

“The South Sudan peace negotiations’ speed is not up to our expectations. It’s very slow,” he said in an interview with Sudan Tribune.

“The mediators and negotiators lack [the] right skills and modalities to negotiate and come out with something tangible for us,” he added.

Koang says there is need for clarity and clear priorities and agendas that define address the issues and are able to deliver outcomes.

He said mediators from the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), which is facilitating peace talks in Ethiopia, also need to be clearer with stakeholders about what is expected of them and develop more constructive relationships with both parties.

“Be prepared for a conversation with clear talking points … avoid controversial topics, but do remain calm during discussions; debate is fine, but avoid being combative,” Koang urged mediators.

“Negotiation is a process to resolve conflict through the give-and-take of negotiations; groups try to agree on a solution that both sides can accept,” he added.

He said successful negotiation requires a careful appraisal of the issues, where one stands on these and what can be done to improve the situation, adding that sound knowledge and evidence is central to influencing decisions and outcomes.

He urged IGAD, the African Union (AU) and UN agencies to keep in mind that influencing political players will require much more than providing the right evidence.

“It requires building pressure on the decision makers by adding strength such as by forming strategic relationships and partnerships, strengthening the capability and actions of pressure groups, and developing public arguments that recognise the parties’ challenges,” Koang said, adding that the national army should not be engaged in harming the people it is charged with protecting.

He told Sudan Tribune that he believes both rival leaders should be included in a proposed interim government, recommending president Kiir remain as head of state and Machar be appointed prime minister to act as chief executive of the South Sudanese government.

South Sudan has been embroiled in armed conflict since mid-December last year after a political dispute within the governing Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM) turned violent, triggering tribal tensions across the country.

The fighting has pitted government troops loyal to Kiir, who hails from the Dinka tribe, against rebel forces aligned with Machar, a Nuer.

Thousands have been killed and more than 1.5 million displaced since the conflict broke out.

Rights groups have accused both sides of committing atrocities and targeted killings based on ethnicity.

(ST)