Civilian disarmament and security enhancement in the state of Jonglei, South Sudan
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Date
2012-09
Authors
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Publisher
Kampala International University, Colleges of humanities and social sciences
Abstract
After signing the Comprehensive Peace Agreement, South Sudan is facing a set of
problems. The Government of South Sudan has yet to establish security throughout the
South and to address internal challenges to its authority, including various militia groups
and inter-communal conflicts.
The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between civilian
disarmament and security enhancement in Jonglel state. But more specifically to (i)
establish the causes of civilian armament; (ii) examine the effects of civilian armament
and (iii) suggest possible solutions to enhance security in Jonglel state, South Sudan
through civilian disarmament programmes.
The study population constituted of NGO officials and ex-combatants. Purposive random
sampling technique was used to select the population sample. Questionnaires were
used to collect data, which was then coded and analyzed descriptively.
From the findings, it was established that; the major factors for the causes of civilian
armament in Jonglei state include (i) cultural practices and values (ii)
underdevelopment, political and economic marginalization and (iii) Prestige for
acquiring weapons. Similarly, the findings also indicated that (I) death and injury (ii)
displacement, breakdown of social order and cohesion are among the key effects of
civilians possessing arms and that the best strategy to enhance security in the region is
by disarming the civilian population.
However, success cannot be judged solely in terms of the numbers of weapons
collected. The study therefore recommended that, (i) disarmament should be carried
out simultaneously in Jonglei and in all the States using incentive method e.g. guns
exchange with money or cows for it would allow civilians to voluntarily surrender their
guns to the government forces (ii) Strengthening decentralization of administration so
that the government is much closer to the people; (iii) Changing the people mindset by
sensitizing communities about the importance of peaceful co-existence including peace
education workshops focused on youth and communities leaders.
Description
A Thesis Presented to the College of Higher Degrees and Research Kampala International University Kampala, Uganda in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Masters in Conflict Resolution and Peace Building
Keywords
Civilian disarmament, Security enhancement, South Sudan