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Periodical article Periodical article Leiden University catalogue Leiden University catalogue WorldCat catalogue WorldCat
Title:The Grassroots Peace Making in South Sudan: A Resort to an Indigenous African Justice System
Author:Nyaba, Peper AdwokISNI
Year:2002
Periodical:East African Journal of Peace and Human Rights (ISSN 1021-8858)
Volume:8
Issue:1
Pages:97-110
Language:English
Notes:biblio. refs.
Geographic terms:Sudan
South Sudan
Subjects:ethnic relations
conflict resolution
Peoples of Africa (Ethnic Groups)
Law, Human Rights and Violence
law
judicial system
Conflicts
Conflict management
Grass roots groups
Justice, Administration of
Abstract:The present inter- and intra-ethnic conflicts in the southern part of the Sudan can be explained in terms of the weakening of the patron-client networks and linkages. What were political contradictions at the level of the SPLM/A (Sudan People's Liberation Movement/Army) were transformed into Dinka-Nuer conflicts in the Upper Nile and Bahr el Ghazal regions. These quickly acquired an ethnic and sub-ethnic dimension in the rest of south Sudan, where the population consists of sixty ethnic groups who are adherents of various denominations of Christianity and of Islam. In the subsequent search for a solution to the conflict both modern (Western) and traditional (indigenous) peacemaking methods have been employed. The modern side has been taken care of by the New Sudan Council of Churches and by the use of tried and tested ways of dealing with conflict, like the identification of perpetrators and their admission of guilt followed by reparation and compensation. Despite all efforts, when this was written the conflict had entered its nineteenth year. If it is ever to be resolved fully, the author feels that it will be necessary to lean heavily on traditional methods and the empowerment of native authority, secular or religious. In an age of pluralism and democracy every nationality must have a voice. In the face of all the divisions and fragmentations afflicting the region, one solution has been to establish a House of Nationalities. This will promote friendship among the various groups as well as help preserve their individuality, by encouraging people to people reconciliation. Notes, ref. [ASC Leiden abstract]
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