Kongor dialogue agrees pre-Christmas priorities

The dialogue was chaired by the Lekuangole County Commissioner Hon. Clement Maze, with Jonglei State represented by Hon. Jackson Bol of the Ministry of Peacebuilding, and GPAA government represented by Hon Malual Ludi. The increased involvement of state authorities in recent months has marked an important shift in ownership of the process, which previously had relied exclusively on traditional and community leadership.

The Communiqué issued following the meeting highlighted key progress between the Murle and Nuer communities, but also highlighted serious challenges which have the potential to derail community relations. Almost one year after a meeting of these communities in December 2020, Murle youth in remote locations remain engaged in abducting children, raiding cattle, and killing of innocent people. A significant resolution from the meeting stressed the importance of activities which ensured these youth were engaged by traditional and youth leaderships to bring this violence to an end. Failure to do so is likely to have very serious consequences, possibly leading to the collapse of the Pieri peace agreement itself.

Representatives from both communities, and from the Dinka Bor community, will meet again in Lekuangole in mid-December to review progress through the inter-communal governance structures. They hope that chiefs and youth who have travelled to remote areas will be in a position to report to state authorities that significant numbers of the youth currently involved in criminality have accepted that such activity must end. Such a commitment is central to securing the peace agreement and ensuring resumption of processes related to the return of abducted women and children to their community of origin.