S. Sudan launches conflict early warning and response unit
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By Julius N. Uma
May 9, 2012 (JUBA) - South Sudan has officially launched its
long-awaited national Conflict Early Warning and Response Unit
(CEWERU); a system earmarked to deepen the government’s ability to
pro-actively respond to risks of violent conflict in the country.
JPEG - 23.1 kb
Conflict Early Warning and Response Mechanism staff in action (CEWARN)
The new system, which was spearheaded by South Sudan Peace and
Reconciliation Commission (SSPRC), is directly linked to the Conflict
Early Warning and Response Mechanism (CEWARM) initiated by the
Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD).
CEWARN describes itself as "an indicator-based early warning system
focused on cross border and interstate pastoral and related conflicts,
monitoring specific factors in so far as any aspect relating to them
could be a peace-promoting or conflict generating."
Speaking during the launch held in Juba, the South Sudan capital, vice
president Riek Machar said the new system is vital for preventing
unforeseen circumstance that may result from conflict.
The newly launched initiative, Machar noted, provides a new approach
to governance in relation to conflict prevention, clearly pledging
South Sudan government’s commitment to support the conflict early
warning and response system.
“South Sudan, which has come out [of] a long-running civil war,
continues to grapple with multiple internal and regional security
challenges which necessitate a nation-wide capacity to anticipate, and
act pro-actively to prevent violent conflicts,” the Vice President
said.
According to Machar, the costs involved while trying to recover from
any conflict that may have occurred is usually higher than the human
and financial costs incurred in preventing conflict outbreak.
He further stressed the need for the CEWERU mechanism to operate at
county, state and federal levels, with local structures empowered to
undertake effective response measures.
With support from the Catholic Relief Service (CRS), the national
early warning system has been operating in at least four South Sudan
states since 2009.
Martin Kimani, the CEWARN director described the establishment of
CEWERUs is an important milestone in advancing CEWARN’s engagement in
South Sudan and the wider IGAD region.
“As CEWARN transitions into a new phase of operation in the post-2012
period, its operations are set to expand to wider geographic and
thematic areas of national and regional relevance in South Sudan as in
the rest of the IGAD member states,” said Kimani.
The conflict early warning and response system, which was graced by
government officials, the UN and donor representatives, is widely
viewed as South Sudan’s fulfilment of its obligation as an IGAD
member, having formally been admitted into the regional body in
December last year.
Operational since 2002, CEWARN is currently the leading
IGAD-initiative focusing on cross-border peace building as a way of
promoting regional stability. Initially centred on cross-border
pastoral and related conflicts along the Djibouti-Ethiopia,
Ethiopia-Kenya-Somalia as well as Ethiopia-Kenya-South Sudan and
Uganda borders, CEWARN is fully operational in South Sudan’s Eastern
Equatoria state counties of North Kapoeta, South Kapoeta, Budi,
Ikwotos and Narus.
Rejecting the African Union’s mediation of the conflict between north
and south Sudan on the basis that it is biased, Juba is calling upon
IGAD to help mediate..
(ST)
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