Lakes wants wives back in school; Abyei war spills into Wau

Lakes official wants wives back in school
Lakes Inspector of Girls’ Education is advocating for women who marry without completing basic education to be given be allowed back in school.
Susan Nyanbuot Buku serves in Lakes State Ministry of Education as Inspector of Girls’ Education under the directorate of Gender, Equity and Social Change. The official also wants schools to invite parents and explain the importance of taking girls to school. Buku also mobilized community members to listen to the radio program “Give Girls a Chance” broadcasted every Friday evening by Good News Radio, followed by a two-hour live program every Saturday on education. Buku said South Sudanese women should take up education opportunities regardless of age.
Meanwhile, some 320 teachers have been given basic skills under a unicef-funded initiative, another Inspector for Girls’ Education, said. The training, in eight counties since May, ended this month. The official said schools will now teach Life Skills as a new subject. The subject would cover areas, including HIV and AIDS, hygiene and sanitation, cultural values, marriage education, and the way teachers should present themselves in the school — Good New Radio

Abyei displaced spill into Wau
Thousands of people displaced from Abyei have moved beyond Warrap State and spilled into Wau.
South Sudan Relief and Rehabilitation Commission (SSRRC) Executive Director for Western Bahr el-Ghazal said last week that some 7,000 people have reached the town, according to SCR News.
Some of the displaced have been brought to the camp by IOM, while others reached Wau by themselves.


Finer details of the Abyei peace plan
Government of Southern Sudan and Government of National Unity officials were by the end of the week still holed up in Addis Ababa to flesh out the implementation plan of the Abyei Peace Agreement signed early in the week.
“We hope it will work out,” Culture Minister Changson Chang told New Times by phone from the Ethiopian capital, Thursday evening.
SPLM Secretary General Pagan Amum signed on behalf of the SPLM and Idriss Abdel Gadir signed for the Government of Sudan.
Key excerpts:
The Abyei Area Administration shall consist of a Chief Administrator, a Deputy Chief Administrator and five heads of department.
The Chief Administrator shall be a nominee of the SPLM, agreed by the GoS. The Deputy Chief Administrator shall be a nominee of the GoS, agreed by the SPLM. In each instance, the nominating Party shall make three nominations for each position, from which the other Party must agree one. Of the five heads of department, three shall be nominees of the SPLM, and two shall be nominees of the GoS. (However, this time the AAA will not have the responsibility to supervise security in the area.)
Decisions of the Executive Council shall be made by consensus. A quorum of the Executive Council shaH be five members present.
The Abyei Area Council shall continue to be composed of twenty members consistent with the Abyei Protocol. The Chairperson of the Council shall be elected by the members of the Council from a list of three (3) persons nominated by the GoS.
(The Parties were to constitute a committee to nominate and agree on the Abyei Area Administration including the Chief Administrator and Deputy Chief Administrator by June 21).
Abyei Joint Oversight Committee
There shall be established an Abyei Joint Oversight Committee (AJOC) which shall be composed of four members. Each Party shall appoint two members to the committee. Two members of the committee shall serve as joint chairs, one nominated by each Party.
The African Union Commission Chairperson shall appoint a nonvoting member as a facilitator to assist the work of the AJOC.
The TSFA Force Commander shall attend the A]OC as a non,voting member when security matters are under discussion.
The A]OC shall exercise, on behalf of the President of Sudan and the President of South Sudan, political and administrative oversight of the Executive Council, and shall submit a monthly report to the President of Sudan and the President of South Sudan, for as long as this mechanism remains in place.
The Presidents may jointly direct the AJOC to deal with any matter relating to Abyei, including in the case of deadlock in the Executive Council.
In the event of deadlock within the A]OC, the AJOC Co-Chairs may refer any question to the Presidents for their guidance. The options and recommendations of the non-voting member of the A]OC shall be forwarded along with the referraL
The Executive Council shall submit a weekly report to the AJOC, giving an overall picture of the situation in the Abyei Area, including security-related matters.
Security Arrangements
With the exception of ISFA, the Abyei Area shall be demilitarized. Any SAF and SPLA forces shall redeploy out of the Area. Henceforth, all other forces, apart from the ISFA shall remain outside of the boundaries of Abyei Area, as defined by the Permanent Court of Arbitration.
A Joint Military Observer Committee QMOC), consisting of an equal number of observers from the two Parties shall be stationed in Abyei. The Force Commander of ISFA shall chair the JMOC. The JMOC shall liaise with ISFA in carrying out its functions.
The military observers shall form Joint Military Observer Teams. The military observers shall be unarmed. They shall be protected by the ISFA.
The JMOC will submit reports to the AJOC.
An Abyei Police Service shall be established. The AJOC shall determine its size and composition.
A special unit of the Abyei Police Service shall deal with the particular issues arising from nomadic migration including accompanying nomads within the Abyei Area on their annual migrations.
Interim Security Force for Abyei (ISFA)
The ISFA shall be established to undertake the following roles: Monitoring and verification; Protection of monitoring teams; Security within Abyei area; Protection of the borders of Abyei from incursions by unauthorized elements; Support and capacity building to Abyei Police Service; Facilitation and protection of humanitarian assistance; Protection of civilians under imminent threat.
The Government of Sudan, the SPLM and the UN shall constitute a joint committee with the Government of Ethiopia to draft the mandate for ISFA, based upon the roles specified in paragraph 2 7 of this Agreement.
The Government of Sudan and the SPLM will request the UN Security Council to approve the deployment and mandate of the ISFA, with the understanding that the mandate referred to in paragraph 27 of this Agreement shall not be changed without the agreement of the GoS, the SPLM and the Government of Ethiopia.
The ISFA shall consist of one brigade (armoured) provided by the Ethiopian National Defence Force. The Force Commander shall be an Ethiopian officer of the rank of Brigadier General or above.
The ISFA shall be deployed and financed by the UN on the basis of the above mandate.
Humanitarian Activities
All displaced former residents of Abyei have the right to return to their former places of residence. The Parties shall facilitate the rapid return of IDPs.
Pastoralist Migration
Consistent with the Abyei Protocol, pastoral nomads shall enjoy rights of migration and access to pasture and water in accordance with traditional migration routes in the Abyei Area.
Process for Resolution of the Final Status of Abyei
The Parties reiterate their commitment to resolve peacefully the final status of Abyei, and shaU therefore consider, in good faith, proposals that the African Union High Level Implementation Panel shall make to resolve this matter. The Panel. shall be advised by the President of Sudan and the President of the Government of Southern Sudan, on the timeframe within which to present its proposals.