Inter-communal conference kicks off in Wau state
November 1, 2017 (WAU) – A three-day conference, which brought together 40 participants from three ethnic communities to rebuild confidence, commenced in South Sudan’s Wau state Wednesday.
Stephen Robo, the state coordinator for Community for Empowerment for Progress (CEPO), said he was optimistic the three communities will come up with strong recommendations that could lead to restore peace and confidence among the communities.
“We are conducting a three day inter-communal trust and confidence rebuilding conference targeting 40 community members from the Luo community, the community of Fertit, and also the Dinka community with their political leaders. It also includes parliamentarian and other political parties,” said Robo.
“Our main objective for this training is to offer them this space to dialogue among themselves and to come up with a clear road map on how they can solve inter-ethnic conflicts in Wau,” he added.
Robo said Wau state has been experiencing series of inter-ethnic conflicts, stressing that the three-day conference, will enable participants come up with a clear road map to solve their problems.
“So we are aiming at this conference, hopefully, within these three days, they will come up with key recommendations,” added Robo.
Viable Support to Transition and Stability Program (VISTAS), AECOM International and the US aid arm (USAID) funded the conference.
Chase Madden, AECOM’s regional programme manager urged all the conference participants to work towards achieving peace and stability in the war-torn nation.
(ST)