By Matik Kueth
The First Vice President, Dr. Riek Machar, appealed to South Sudan’s security institutions to intensify their efforts in implementing the security sector reforms stipulated in the 2018 peace agreement.
Machar, who spoke on Thursday at the Security Sector Reform Conference in Juba, hailed the conference as a significant milestone in transforming the security sector.
“This conference is important for everyone, whether citizens or decision-makers, and will go a long way in bringing about a transformation in the security sector, especially in the unification of systematic forces,” Dr. Machar said “They were waiting for this day [Thursday] to come when the Strategic Defense and Security Review Board presented its work in such a conference,” He underscored the significance of the security arrangements as the cornerstone of the peace deal.
Machar noted that the second stage of the security arrangements procedure would start if these documents are approved by the Transitional National Legislature and the Cabinet.
He emphasized that the conference’s outcome will have an impact on how serious the disarmament, disbandment, and reintegration process is.
“We hope Parliament will have agreed by then to the legislation on disarming civilians so that they can be disarmed. So, I assure you we are close to completing these procedures,” he stressed.
According to Chapter Two, Article 2, subsection 5 of the 2018 Revitalized Peace Agreement for the Settlement of Conflict in the Republic of South Sudan, the Strategic Defense and Security Review Board is in charge of developing and implementing important security policies, including the book White on Defense and Security, the revised defense policy, the security sector transformation road map, and the strategic security assessment of the security policy framework.
Reforming South Sudan’s security sector is necessary in order to promote long-term peace and stability, bolster the rule of law, and improve military professionalism.