Communiqué from the South Sudan Civil Society Convention 26th-29th July 2011 August 24th, 2011
Communiqué from the South Sudan Civil Society Convention 26th – 29th July 2011 Juba, the Republic of South Sudan We, the representatives of various organized sectors of civil society from all the ten states of the Republic of South Sudan, concerned about social, political and economic issues in the immediate post independence period in our country; Having met in Nyakuron Cultural Centre Juba, from the 26th to 29th of July 2011, and deliberated on the role of civil society in the next stage of our nation’s history at a gathering that was opened by the Chairperson of the South Sudan Human Right Commission, Maulana Lawrence Korbandy addressed by Sheikh Juma Saied, His Grace the Archbishop of the Roman Catholic Church of Sudan, the Rt. Rev Bishop Paulino Lukudu, Bishop Paride Taban, Dr. Clement Janda, Bishop Enock Tombe and officially closed by H.E Gier Chaung Aluong, the Minister of Internal Affairs who represented H.E the Vice President. Acknowledging the need to organise ourselves into a formidable, united and focused community of civic actors, capable of contributing meaningfully to nation building and social transformation; Bestow upon ourselves the responsibility to facilitate; the improvement of the lives of our people, kick start socio-economic development, promote democracy/good governance, raise issues of concern to the Government, promote the rule of law, peace, stability, development as well as to influence transitional processes in the country; Aware that the new socio-political and economic dispensation puts forth a wide range of challenges, which include; constitution making, peace-building, addressing the widespread proliferation of small arms in our communities, the need for civic education, service delivery, natural resource management, protection and promotion of human rights and freedoms, ensuring social justice and addressing the rights of people with special needs among others; Noting our desire to come together as a formidable force of civil society, capable of engaging constructively with the government, the private sectors and other actors Aware that our efforts may be slowed down by lack of reliable communication facilities, undefined vision, mandate and purpose of many CSOs, lack of clarity on the significance of networking and lack of reliable information on who is doing what, where, when and why; Cognizant of the needs to re-define and organise ourselves so as to make meaningful contributions to our nation during at this critical transitional period, do hereby resolve and recommend the following; Resolutions on the formation of the South Sudan Civil Society Alliance • That on this day the 29th of July 2011 we herein establish the South Sudan Civil Society Alliance – which will be based in Juba and will have state representation. • That the Alliance shall have a Steering Committee comprising of representatives of thematic networks and special actors for change. • That the alliance will be represented by two nominees from each state whose role will be to coordinate the activities of the alliance at the state level. • That the nominated National Steering Committee and the secretariat will work to finalize the institutionalization of the Alliance within the duration of their term. They will also serve as the legitimate body until the end of their term (one year) -and work to convene the second convention to review the progress and confirm the institutionalization of the body. • That Justice Africa continues to serve as the technical support to the Steering Committee. • That the Steering Committee will take forward the recommendations of the convention. • That the new body will play the role of coordination, information sharing and building consensus on issues of concern to the citizens of this nation and will be guided by the by the vision and mission of the Alliance to ensure vibrant, influential and credible body for civil society in the Republic of South Sudan. • That this document and all the recommendations of this convention shall be the interim guiding mechanism of South Sudan Civil Society Alliance until the 29th July 2012. Recommendations to the Citizens of South Sudan • That we should embrace unity in diversity and overtly reject ethnicity, nepotism and corruption. • That the new government should enhance and promote social justice and declare zero tolerance for sexual and gender based violence – and develop a national strategy to address gender concerns. Recommendations to the CSOs of South Sudan • That we should support and work with the newly formed body and with one another for the realisation of our goal – A vibrant , influential, and credible South Sudan Civil Society. • That we have an obligation to monitor the implementation of the transitional constitution and mobilise citizen participation in the making of the permanent constitution. • That CSOs should jointly educate the people on the need to consolidate peace and community security and holding the government accountable on their management and use of public fund and resources. • That CSOs have an obligation to raise awareness, contribute to information generation and dissemination with the goal of influencing policy. • That all citizens should have a collective responsibility to ensure that public resources and revenues from natural resources, aid money, donations and grants are effectively managed for the benefit of all citizens. • That CSOs should put in place internal mechanisms and systems of transparency and accountability within their respective organizations, networks and institutions. Recommendations to the Government • That the Government of the Republic of South Sudan should recognize and begin engaging with the South Sudan Civil Society Alliance and the entire civil society fraternity in addressing issues of national concern. • That the government should ensure that there is a conducive environment for civil society to contribute to nation building. • That the new government should take a bold step and publicly affirm its commitment to freedom of expression, association and peaceful assembly, including membership in any political party. • We call on the Republic of South Sudan and all her citizens to demonstrate their commitment to civil and political rights and freedoms. • That we look forward to a people driven constitution making process, a sustainable democratization process, consolidation of peace, community security and meaningful beginning of socio-economic development. • That the new government should use consultation and dialogue as a means of resolving conflicts. Recommendations to Donors and Partners • That donors and development partners should support civil society to play an influential and meaningful role in the new dispensation. • That the current funding mechanisms should be changed as they do not enable civil society access to sufficient support necessary to influence policy. Recommendations to the CPA parties • That the parties to the CPA should ensure that the remaining parts of the CPA, such as the protocols on Southern Kordofan and Abyei are implemented. We call on the two parties speed up the Addis Ababa and other deliberations. The Communiqué was ratified by over 200 hundred civil society organisations representing all ten states of South Sudan. This entry was posted on Wednesday, August 24th, 2011 at 4:23 pm and is filed under Justice Africa News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site. 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