Well-managed borders are critical in facilitating continuous and effective mobility of people, goods and capital, ensuring the safety and security of people on the move, and combatting illicit cross-border activities, such as trafficking in persons and smuggling of migrants. Efforts to strengthen border management will have a lasting impact in fostering stability and development of the Republic of South Sudan, and as such is one of the major strategic components within efforts to promote free movement between the East African Community (EAC) members.

The Government of South Sudan continues to face challenges in managing its twenty-six official borders, due to insecurity, armed conflict, incomplete demarcation of borders, limited Standard Operating Procedures, and nascent cross-border cooperation with neighboring countries.

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) has been assisting the Government of South Sudan in strengthening border management, through tailored capacity building, improved infrastructure, and developing Whole-of-Government approaches. Building upon these efforts, IOM has launched a two-year project to Support Peace, Security and Stability in Northern Regions through Strengthening Border Management Capacities and Inclusive Community Engagement.

The project will establish processes of positive change at institutional, individual and societal levels, to strengthen peace, security, and protection at the northern borders of South Sudan. It will further lay the foundations for access to longer term and sustainable development through strengthening border management and adopting inclusive community participation within these efforts, through a Community Policing Approach, whilst contributing to COVID-19 responses.

To kick off the project implementation, IOM organized a two-day workshop in Juba to develop Standard Operating Procedures on Police-Community Relations Committee (PCRC), with an objective to provide the Directorate of Community Policing with key tools to strengthen efforts and engagement between the police and community members that they serve.

Major General Daniel Justin, Spokesperson of SSPNS and Head of Morale Orientation Directorate, officially opened the two-day workshop and welcomed the support of the stakeholders in supporting the security sector reform agenda in South Sudan.

The Head of Cooperation at the Embassy of Germany in South Sudan, Janika Walter, reiterated the steadfast support of the German Government in supporting reforms of the police and enduring a community orientated and human rights-based approach. Walter also highlighted that trust and transparency between police and the community is vital to community stability, officer safety, and effective policing, as well as wider stabilization efforts.

In his opening remarks, IOM’s Chief of Mission, Peter Van Der Auweraert, highlighted that a Community Policing Approach is a promising tool to foster police-community relationships and applicable in the context of stabilization, peace building, and migration management.

The workshop was attended by relevant law enforcement stakeholders, including the Head of Community Policing Unit and MOI Training Department, as well as other key stakeholders, including Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), UNPOL and National Transformative Leadership Institute (NTLI) of University of Juba. 

IOM enjoys global experience in assisting member states and will continue to utilize knowledge and expertise gained in support of South Sudan, and the Mission was very pleased to engage a Government official from Iraq through virtual platforms to share experiences and lessons learned from IOM and Government efforts in the country with support from Germany, and facilitate mutual learning and exchanges.

This project is funded by the German Federal Foreign Office.