SPLA-IO senior military staff receive UN workshop in Ethiopia

By Tesfa-Alem Tekle

February 10, 2016 (ADDIS ABABA) – Senior military officers of the armed opposition faction of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM-IO) have completed a two-day workshop in Addis Ababa with technical support from the United Nations (UN) through the Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary General on Sexual Violence in Conflict and UN Integrated Mission in South Sudan.

SPLA-IO Senior staff members who took part at the UN workshop (ST Photo)

The leadership of the SPLM/A-IO has delegated 13 senior staff representing various military departments for a workshop which was organized by the United Nations in Addis Ababa on from 4-5 February, 2016.

Participants on Monday told Sudan Tribune that one of the main objectives of the workshop was to address alleged human rights abuses that might have been committed by both sides of the conflict in South Sudan.

This is the second time that senior SPLA staff have been brought to Ethiopia so that issues of human rights concerns in the country are openly discussed. At the end of the workshop, it was resolved that two of the eight Divisions of the SPLA-IO will appoint 100 Focal Points each as a starting point.

David Bang Teny, member of the Implementation Task Force said the workshop was so significant in that it is done in line with unilateral communiqué signed by Dr. Riek Machar Teny, the chairman and commander in chief of the SPLM/A-IO on 18 December 2014 and joint communiqué by Salva Kiir Mayardit of the SPLM/A-IG on 11 October 2014 respectively on Conflict Related Sexual Violence.

The two principals have appointed High Level Focal Points who would directly liaise with Special Representative of the Secretary General of the United Nations.

Accordingly, Awan Guol Riak, the current Minister in the office of the president on the government side and Angelina Teny, the chairperson of Defense and Security committee on the Opposition side were selected.

The Director General of the Military Justice of the SPLA, Major General William Kuol Chuol, among others have presented brief and precise Military Justice programmes which are already in place in areas controlled by SPLA-IO.

Participants told Sudan Tribune that they have gained crucial knowledge from the work shop and pledged to assure they would do everything in their powers to pass on the knowledge as trained.

Gatluak Michael, one of the implementation task force member said the UN workshop that he had attended was significant in the sense that it educated combatants that raping and other conflict related sexual violence are against international humanitarian law (IHL), humanity, country’s constitution (SPLA-ICT that both SPLA-IO and SPLA-IG are using), norms and customary laws.

“It also aims at transforming the SPLA-IO [in] to a national army. Most importantly, it goes in line with the directives that were given to the entire forces of SPLA-IO by [Commander-in-Chief] Riek Machar after the Nasir consultative conference in April 2014 on how to protect civilians and respect international humanitarian law before, during and after defensive battles,” Gatluak added.

In collaboration with the United Nations, there are going to be ongoing trainings on how issues of human rights violations by soldiers will be documented and will hold accountable those who are implicated on committing human rights abuses if proven guilty by competent court.

In less than a month, an Implementation Task Force office will be inaugurated at Pagak, South Sudan, whose members are official appointees of the two principals based on their expertise on different areas and will be working in conjunction with UN agencies for a quick and timely documentation of human rights abuses in South Sudan.