South Sudan defies AU agenda of ‘Silencing the Guns’ …as September marks last Africa Amnesty Month

By Charles Lotara
Three years ago, the African Union (AU) crafted a campaign on “Silencing the Guns in Africa by 2020”, an initiative aims to achieve a conflict-free Africa, prevent genocide, make peace a reality for all and rid the continent of wars, violent conflicts, human rights violations, and humanitarian disasters.
Since the establishment of the campaign in 2017, the month of September has been earmarked as an Africa Amnesty Month, a month in which armed civilians in possession of illegal arms are mandated to surrender those arms to the government.
In South Sudan, armed conflicts continue to flourish with parties who are not signatories to the Revitalized Peace Agreement posing threats to the peace and security which has been holding since 2018.
In August, Dr. James Wani Igga, the Vice President for the Economic Cluster lost six bodyguards after an ambush in Lobonok of Central Equatoria State. The National Salvation Front led by Thomas Cirilo claimed responsibility for the attack, drawing condemnation from the British government. This is not a separate incident.
In April this year, hundreds of civilians were driven out of their homes and forced to seek refuge in the bush after tensions flared between armed forces with the National Salvation Front accusing the joint government and SPLM-IO forces of attacking their position in Lainya County.
A signatory to the Rome Declaration of 2019, the breakaway movement has unleashed a military offensive on civilians, especially within the Central Equatoria region, forcing government forces to react.
As the AU marks the “Amnesty Month” of the defining and final year of their campaign, South Sudan also remained a persistent laggard as far as disarmament is concerned. Several attempts to disarm civilians in possession of illegally-owned arms have been met with violent resistance as communities accuse the government of politicizing the disarmament process.
In August, efforts to disarm communities in Tonj East of Warrap State fuelled deadly clashes between soldiers and armed members of the region resisting to handover their illicit weapons.
The developments fall in sharp contrast with the assertion of Mr. Ivor Richard Fung, the Deputy Chief of the Conventional Arms Branch at the United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs that the “Amnesty Month” has been largely successful in many African countries.
Since its first commemoration on 21st September 2017, the “Amnesty Month” was held in Burkina Faso, Central African Republic, Madagascar, Sudan, and Zambia.
“The message has spread far and wide in these countries to mobilize people around the issue of small arms,” Fung told the Africa Renewal in an exclusive interview.
But South Sudan was seemingly kept out of the picture when its neighbour Sudan got sensitized on the “Amnesty Month”, which Fung said has witnessed the willing surrendering of many arms illegal owners.
“Weapons have been collected in these countries. People came forward to surrender their weapons, and these weapons were destroyed.
“Governments have also moved ahead with improving legislation. However, it’s not enough to have good legislation, you have to implement it. And so, it is the implementation phase, and especially the role that law enforcement officers can play, that is very important, and where we are also placing emphasis,” Fung said.