The South Sudan Action network on Small Arms (SSANSA) with support from PAX, CORDAID and the Africa Security Sector Network (ASSN) convened a three day training on Security Sector Reform (SSR) for civil society representatives in South Sudan. The workshop ran from the 21st – 23rd of October 2015, and was facilitated by ASSN experts – Dr Medhane Tadese and Brig. Gen. Kellie Conteh. They were supported by SSANSA’s Head of Secretariat, Geoffrey L. Duke and Taban Kiston of South Sudan Law Society (SSLS).
The training covered normative frameworks as well as experiences of other countries in their SSR efforts. It particularly included experiences of Sierra Leone in its SSR path following the end of the armed conflict in the early 1990s. There was a spotlight on how civil society organizations engaged in that reform process. It also unpacked the SSR related provisions of the recently signed 2015 peace agreement , specifically Chapter 2, with the aim of mapping out areas where civil society should focus on to maximize impacts on reforms. The theme for the training was “Towards concerted and sustained civil society engagement in Security Sector Reform in implementation of the South Sudan Peace Agreement”.
As part of the core team that led the SSR process in Sierra Leone, Brig Gen Conteh shared with the South Sudan civil society members hands-on experiences of the SSR process, possible challenges to expect and how to navigate them while underscoring that there is no one size fits all approach but sustained civil society engagement and priority setting is key in SSR. Dr Tadesse brought to light key aspects of the historical aspects of SSR at the continental level which provided a lens for the participants to look at SSR on the African continent with a focus on South Sudan.
The training formed part of SSANSA’s initiative to facilitate civil society engagement in the SSR process in South Sudan during the transition period and beyond. SSANSA is a civil society network with state chapters spread out in the ten states of South Sudan. In view of the South Sudan environment, SSANSA and its partners are engaged in improving community security and peaceful transition in South Sudan through SALW control, enhancing local protection mechanism and campaigning for violence-free elections. Fragility of the security sector in South Sudan can be singled out as being responsible for especially the current outbreak of conflict. An overhaul of the system is therefore an urgent need; the achievement of which requires active civil society participation.
The workshop concluded on a high note with participants and the organizers envisioning a more strategic engagement of the civil society in SSR.
The three day training was followed by a public event on, “First Steps for South Sudan in Security Sector Reform and Transformation (SSRT)” during which participants discussed the current opportunities for SSRT and lessons learnt from past SSR process in the South Sudan. The experience of Sierra Leone was also discussed on how their SSR process thrived after their civil war; Brigadier Conteh was once again an asset in sharing the Sierra Leone experience.
