Some of the stakeholders have called on the South Sudan government to strengthen arms management besides disarmament in order to end arms proliferation.
Their concern came after South Sudan Peoples defense forces (SSPDF) declared disarmament in Warrap state and Mayom county in Unity.
Speaking to the media on Tuesday, the Chairperson of theCoalition of Opposition Parties (COOP), Dr. Gai Chol Paulwelcomed the decision and urged the government to close avenues that give civilians access to own guns or weapons.
He expressed disarmament and proper arms management can end the spread of guns in the hands of the civilians.
Chol claimed that without proper management the civilians will use the same gaps not close to acquire the guns/weapons and escalate the inter-communal conflict.
He added that several disarmaments have been done but they failed to reduce the arms in the hands of Civilians.
“The disarmament is a good initiative; however, the same method has been tried several times and has failed. The problem is the source from which civilians get armaments, including rifles and ammunition. If the source of these armaments is not shut down, the disarmament exercise will be a futile effort” Chol said.
Weapons or arms management is the oversight, accountability and management of arms and ammunition throughout their lifecycle, including establishment of frameworks, processes and practices for safe and secure materiel acquisition, stockpiling, transfers, tracing and disposal.
For effective reduction of Violent through disarmament, Chol appealed to government to address all the challenges in order to ensure guns do not return to civilian after the ongoing disarmament.
He urged the defense Ministry to improve the welfare of the soldiers as well as strengthen code of conduct.
“Therefore, even if the exercise starts well, the arms will still go back into the hands of civilians. The best thing the Ministry of Defence and Veterans Affairs should do now is to improve the welfare of the SSPDF personnel and tighten the code of conduct that regulates armaments. That is where a future disarmament will produce fruit; otherwise, what the SSPDF has planned to do in Warrap and Mayom is going to be a failure” he said.
“That is where a future disarmament will produce fruit; otherwise, what the SSPDF has planned to do in Warrap and Mayom is going to be a failure” he said.
This week the South Sudan People’s Defense Forces (SSPDF) commenced a forceful/peaceful disarmament operation targeting armed youth in Warrap State and Mayom County of Unity State.
This directive to peacefully or forceful disarmed Warrap state and Mayom county came after series of armed conflict in these two places which opted President to declare a six-month state of emergency last week.
On respond to the military order, Ter Manyang Executive Director for Center for Peace and Advocacy (CPA), oppose forceful disarmament.
“Disarmament, in itself, is not inherently harmful. In fact, when carried out by a legitimate, trusted government capable of ensuring the safety and dignity of all civilians, it can be a step toward stability” he said.
