CIPAD Successfully Conducted Community Consultative and Advocacy Workshop on Ending Child and Forced Marriages in Warawar Boma of Baac Payam in Aweil East County, NBG State.
United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) with its Peace and Community Cohesion (PaCC) funded by Government of Sweden is supporting Strengthening Communal Peace, Reconciliation and Social Cohesion Project being implemented by Community Initiative for Partnership and Development (CIPAD) in some locations of Aweil East, Center and South Counties in Northern Bahr El Ghazal State with the aim of contributing to reduction and mitigation of community-level conflict and insecurity by investing in initiatives that addresses key drivers of conflict and enhances community interdependency and social cohesion in the target locations.
To achieve the above project goal, Community Initiative for Partnership and Development (CIPAD) successfully conducted two (2) days Community Consultative and Advocacy Workshop on Ending Child and Forced Marriages in Warawar Boma of Baac Payam in Aweil East County of Northern Bahr El Ghazal State.
The workshop was attended by 40 participants (20 females) who were from local authorities, youth groups, women groups, traders, police service, prison service, traditional leaders, chiefs, community elders, religious groups, leaders of farmers associations and cattle camp leaders.
The workshop has created awareness among participants on
- child protection, rights (Child Act, 2008) and regional as well as international legal instruments on child rights (African Charter on the Rights & Welfare of the Child – ACRWC 1990), (United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child – UNCRC 1989)
- negative consequences of child and forced marriages in the communities
- women rights, bills of rights in the Interim Constitution of South Sudan, regional and international instruments on women rights.
- Understanding drivers of child and forced marriages in the community
Participants after all the sessions of community consultative and advocacy workshop, developed a draft payam level policy with clear action plan on how to prevention, report and managed cases of child and forced marriages in the community aiming at ending child and forced marriages in accordance with the laws of South Sudan.
During the workshop, local authorities helped in mobilizing the participants and provided necessary security which contributed to the success of the workshop. Payam Administrator opened and closed the workshop with the words of thanks to United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Government of Sweden, and Community Initiative for Partnership and Development (CIPAD) for mobilizing resources and successfully organized the workshop to the expectations of the participants.