Radio Miraya
2746: South Sudan: Importance of MultilateralismOffice of the Special Envoy for the Horn of Africa
(air whooshing) - Democracy in action. A program on how a state functions. Featuring in-depth discussions with experts on governance, politics and decision making. Tune in as every week we explore the complexities of governance. What is democracy? What is your role as a citizen? All these and more in democracy in action. Thursday at 9 a.m. with a repeat at 9 p.m. the same day. Stay informed and engage with democracy in action. Radio me right, the voice of peace. (upbeat music) (dramatic music) - Hello and welcome to Democracy in action. Today my name is Lucy Kiten. Now today's topic will focus around multilateralism in democracy. We'll look at the general importance, challenges, benefits and opportunities for member states and also its role in peacekeeping and elections. South Sudan is a member of several regional and global organizations. Regional and global organizations do bring together relevant states in important times such as elections as well as collaboration and cooperation among states regarding matters that affect the specific regions such as peace, security, development, economy. And South Sudan is a member of the United Nations, the African Union, the East African community and the Intergovernmental Authority on Development. Now this morning as we look at the importance of multilateralism in democracy, we get to understand the role of E-Guard and the United Nations Office of the Special Envoy as well as many other regional organizations that South Sudan is part of. Now a guest today, we have two guests, David Kwaje who is E-Guard Head of Mission and Aisha Noor who is Political Affairs Officer at United Nations Office for the Special Envoy, the Horn of Africa. E-Guard is the Intergovernmental Authority on Development and it matches currently eight states in the Horn of Africa. We have Djibouti, Kenya, Sudan, Somalia, South Sudan, Uganda, Ethiopia and Eritrea. And then the United Nations Office for the Special Envoy in Horn of Africa is mandated to support the region in sustaining and gaining peace and security including the transition process in the Sudan and ongoing peace process in South Sudan. So the Office of the Special Envoy is very responsible for supporting E-Guard in this regard. And so, yes, let's get into the topic, understand it and also let's meet our guests who are with me in the studio, David Kwaje, you're very welcome. - Thank you, good morning listeners. It's very good to be here with my colleague Aisha and the team from Redevira, thank you for hosting me. - Oh yes, thank you for coming, Aisha, you are welcome. - Thank you very much, thank you very much. - All right, good to be here. - Yes, and so, well, let's get an understanding of what multilateralism actually is in itself. Aisha, could you take that? - Multilateralism is cooperation and working together and the organization of relations between three or more states to effectively tackle transnational challenges. You have already mentioned few topics during your introduction and we can say in the horn of Africa region climate change, boundary dispute, pandemics, where all the states need to come together and address this issue because it's not only South Sudan or any specific country, it involves all the countries in the region. Over to David. - Yes, David, do you have anything to add? - Yes, she has really defended very well. Only what I may add is on the fact that multilateralism focuses and comes around to resolve common challenges and common problems as we live in a global village and the problems of our neighbors automatically become ours and that is because we are all interconnected. And to stress on this is the fact that most of the multilateral agencies were formed historically based on common issues. So that is the only addition I can make, otherwise she is very correct, thank you. - All right, thank you for that. And now let's look at what are the major, okay, not major, you can mention all the benefits that come with being part of such multilateral agencies for a state like South Sudan, David. - I think the first one will be the issue of collective problem solving, in that by coming together and getting the support of other member states, I will give the example of EGAD when it comes to climate change and advance weather shocks, South Sudan has benefited through EGAD, based on the EGAD institution that is based in aerobic, focusing on the regional problem solving when it comes to the challenge of climate change. Secondly, will be on issues to do with the economic benefits. You have the need for increased economic integration and prosperity by reducing trade barriers, as well as fostering economic cooperation. Here you will be giving the example of the northern corridor that the northern corridor transit and transport coordination authority, which is based in Mombasa. It helps by ensuring that South Sudan is part of the economic corridor and it benefits through the regional integration. And perhaps a third will be on shared burden because by addressing global issues, this often requires significant resources which one country cannot own or cannot be able to dispense. Therefore, multilateralism allows countries, such as South Sudan and our neighbors to share the financial and the logistical burdens, making it easier to tackle large-scale problems which otherwise would not be able to be tackled at one national capacity. Over to Aisha on the other points in case she want to add. - Yes, Aisha, please go ahead. - I will focus on general benefits and challenges. For example, for smaller nations, multilateralism can be beneficial as David already mentioned and they can collectively work together by using their comparative advantages through shared responsibilities to advocate towards a larger one. For larger nations, multilateralism can support their negotiation with other influential states via power in numbers rather than more resource heavy bilateral negotiations. So that's what I can add on what David has already mentioned. - All right, thank you for that. And right now we're going to look at some of the mechanisms currently in place that South Sudan is part of. And as you speak on this, I would also like you to give some examples and situations that South Sudan has also benefited from them due to these existing mechanisms. So David, go ahead. - Yes, I will start with my organization, the one I'm here to represent. I can not speak on behalf of anyone yet. - Yes. - Eagad, as everyone will know, the history of South Sudan and Eagad is highly intertwined in that one of Eagad's biggest legacies is South Sudan. And we have been part and parcel of the journey of this country right before in the negotiations from the 1990s to the early 2000s. And as early as late as 2018 when we had again the roadmap, and all of this is talking to the benefit of conflict prevention and strengthening stability of South Sudan. So that to me is the flagship benefit that South Sudan has derived from Eagad. With regards to UN and other agencies, I would allow my sister Eagad to tackle that one, thank you. - Yes, Eagad, what are some of those mechanisms, especially with the UN? And with the UN, it's actually very many different platforms. We have the UNness, we have the Office for the Horn of Africa. Go ahead. - With regard to South Sudan, I mean how multilateralism has supported, we can give the best example of 2005 comprehensive peace agreement that led to referendum for the independence of the country in 2011. David mentioned already Eagad role, Eagad mediated peace talks leading to the signing of peace agreements, including the CPA and the agreement in 2015. And then revitalized agreement in 2018. UN, Eagad, EU, then ESE, then South Sudanese seeking membership at the BRICS, working together, building capacity for governance and political transition process. Specific example on unmiss role, who each collaborates with other even entities, Eagad, EU to support the expansion of civic and political space through political parties forum, support to the constitution making process, also technical and logistical support to the electoral process, as well as supporting protection of civilian and monitoring and human rights abuses. We also have seen the EU taking lead on accountability efforts, notably on commission of inquiry and support for youth in the electoral process. The EU and Troika through diplomatic pressure encourages parties to adhere to peace agreement, democratic processes and impose targeted sanction on individuals, entities, obstructing the peace support in South Sudan and also in the region, over to you. - Wow, and when we see all these things that have happened because South Sudan is actually part of an organization of different states coming together, different actors, different specialized positioned people to look into and focus into these specific areas like accountability, peace process. And how does this come to be? Because if you compare with, let's assume that if South Sudan was actually an entity that was just doing stuff on its own, would these have been achieved? How does this work? Where does multilateralism actually come in to support the growth of democracy in a country like South Sudan, especially how it's positioned and the current context it's in? David, Ayesha? David. - The first one is through allowing South Sudan to learn from the mistakes of others. That is where you are able to look and benefit from the experience of other countries, which to me is a big advantage because through such platforms, through such multilateral agencies and even institutions of multilateral nature, South Sudan is able to learn and benefit out of their experience and to be able, even to benchmark its own standards to make sure that it is improving and that it is learning and that it is well-coordinated, especially when it comes to health, when it comes to education. Recently, there's the Qualifications Center through one of our programs in Djibouti, the center team to do an assessment on the labor and skills market with the aim of coming up with a set of standards which is at power and is able to fit to other countries so that if you are an engineer in South Sudan, you can practice in other countries. So these are the unique and the real benefits which multilateralism can be felt on the day-to-day lives of the common people and that is what as EGAD, we are trying to make sure that we are able to go to the community and address and to make sure that the presence of EGAD and our activities are felt but I will not dwell somewhat when EGAD, maybe I know the other multilateral agencies or South Sudan is part of and one of them is a partner in the trilateral EU. They have also been quite supportive of the EGAD piece process and even with the implementation, we are working hand-in-hand with them through the trilateral mechanism to ensure that we are able to leverage on our core competencies and our unique positions to support South Sudan at this very critical moment. - Before we go back to Aisha, you've talked about learning from mistakes of others that is looking at other countries and what they've been through but what about in terms of resources, development? What about in terms of decision-making? How does that work out? - In terms of resources, of course, we share common resources. I'll give you an example of the Nile, the water that flows across South Sudan, it didn't start from here. It started, the original is down in Uganda, towards the lake, Victoria Basin and so these resources have to be managed and coordinated to ensure that it benefits all of us, not just one country and also it's also very important to avoid conflicts and one way to do that is to make sure that there's constant engagement and there's a lot of consensus because the key theme of multilateral agencies is consensus and without consensus, you will easily have a disjointed region and happy neighbors around you and that is one of the key pillars of multilateral agencies in that they operate on the basis of consensus which needs a lot of engagement and with that engagement comes the requirement of regular meetings. That's why you always see us having meetings and some people will wonder why all these people meeting all the time and it's just to develop a consensus which comes from common understanding based on common analysis addressing common challenges. - Thank you, David. - Aisha, you can talk up on that and as well speak on the role of the UN and you know, unmiss in the peace process. - David has covered almost everything he has in the left. So generally speaking, UNMIS also together with the partners David already mentioned. We have been seeing the use of multilateral initiatives in addressing the peace and security concerns in the country, promoting political stability and support peace building and reconciliation efforts, addressing climate change effects, gender equality, emergency humanitarian assistance and development, economic growth, military security among all other issues that we are dealing with. - To be specific, I want to give one example that EGAD has initiated and has been working very closely with UN. Also, UNMIS is part of it, is the Greater Horn of Africa Climate Outlook Forum that took place last week. And it has been addressing two challenges at the moment. One is the rise of water in Lake Victoria and a heavier rainy season, which is upcoming from June to September. And the recent forum included the national metrological and hydrological services of the Greater Horn of Africa, world metrological organizations and other international partners. So they brought together all the national counterparts and discussed how to address the situation as well as they discussed the concerns that were also the highlights on climate change, winter season, then increase of temperature, increase of dry spell in some areas. I mean, different part has different problem and discussing how to address those situation, how to put joint hands to address those situation and South Sudan or downstream Nile countries will be having severe flood. I mean, it is anticipated and how we can put together our efforts to address those issues. That's all from me. - Okay, thank you very much. And indeed, it's very, very important because then these are shared resources. And these are, like you said earlier, these are shared challenges as well, these are shared responsibilities. And it's very important to come together and approach them from a multilateral view. And what about the peace process now? Let's come down to the peace process as we are about to dive into election. Aisha, looking at the peace process, why was it so important to approach it from a multilateral aspect? - We, David, as already mentioned, common challenges, common problem and shared responsibility. And that is the basic of the multilateralism principle here. So the international cooperation involved being, I mean, involved on election and implementation of peace process. David mentioned our trilateral mechanism where AU, EGAD, UNMIS, other UN entities are joining hands to support the government with technical and to some extent, logistical support to conduct election because of the capacity of the government which might not be as standard as the other established democracies where these entities are putting together hands to support the country to pass through this transition period. That's all I can contribute. - And indeed, it is important. Thank you so much for your contributions as we break down and analyze the importance of multilateralism for South Sudan, especially as we're looking at upcoming elections and the country becoming a fully democratic country. So we'll be coming back into the discussion. If you've just joined us, this is democracy in action. It's now 25 minutes to 10 a.m. And we're looking at the general importance, challenges, benefits, opportunities that are available for a country like South Sudan when it embodies and which is actually already doing. We're looking at multilateralism and its importance. And so after the break, we're going for a short break and after the break, we'll be diving into how this comes in to play when we talk about elections that are currently expected to happen the end of the year in December. But after the break, we'll be back. (upbeat music) 101 FM radio, Miraya, powered by the people, uniting the nation, your preferred station, The Voice of Peace. ♪ Come on ♪ ♪ No one say ♪ ♪ You heard your Miraya ♪ ♪ You're Miraya ♪ ♪ One say ♪ ♪ You're one say ♪ Welcome back. It is now 24 minutes to the top of the hour. This is Democracy in Action. My name is Lucy Kidan. And with me in studio is a guest from EAGAD and the UN Office of the Special Envoy for the Horn of Africa. We have David Kwaje from EAGAD and Aisha Nour, who is our Political Affairs Office. I would say my colleagues, she's also my colleague. And so we are talking about multilateralism in democracy here in South Sudan. We're looking at how it has played a role in different aspects of the country and the region. We're looking at the peace process, accountability mechanisms that are in place. We're looking at regional management and benefits of resources. We also looked at climate change and how it's important in cases of boundary disputes, pandemics when we had COVID. There's just such a great importance when it comes to multilateralism. But right now we want to look at its role as we talk about elections, expected elections that, according to the peace agreement, should be held in December this year. And so if you have a comment, a question, do send in a text message right now on 0 9 1 2 1 7 7 1 4 1. As we continue with the conversation, there will be an opportunity to open the lines for you to call in and ask your questions or comment live on air. Yes, so as we continue with this discussion, we're now looking at the role of multilateralism and how these institutions, these agencies, play a role in elections for South Sudan, specifically in this case. David, what are some of the key actors in South Sudan's preparation for elections and from the multilateral agencies? There are many players, as you are aware, the one that has been at the driving seat is a trilateral mechanism through the principles meeting every month. And then the key here is to harness the energy and the momentum as well as the resources that these three entities embody. But before that, it's to emphasize on the fact that multilateral agencies, such as ours, comes here from an un-pattison point of view, from a neutral background and from a advisory and guidance role, that is the key thing, in that we play a supportive role by guiding and advising and ensuring that the local mechanisms on the ground receive the support that they need and steering the process in a way that will remain to the theme that this is a South Sudanese process and that South Sudan is owned. Our role is to facilitate and to provide support. We do not make the decisions. We do not drive the process. That has to be very clear. Another additional support or role, as my sister I mentioned earlier, is on the logistical support and technical assistance. We have this unique advantage, where you have-- un-mesh is able to transport some of the members of the mechanisms. And through such additional support, we believe that the peace agreement will be steered and will have the support that it deserves, so that eventually the people of this country enjoy peace and are able to be part of a stable region, because the role of the multilateral agencies, when it comes to supporting the democracy and the electoral process, doesn't just stop within South Sudan. The numerous events where I have seen some parties and some stakeholders were taken for international-- to get international experience and exposure, such as, I think, there's a team that the EU mentioned who are taken to South Africa to serve the electrons. Other parties, another stakeholders and good partners have supported discussions and forums outside this country to make sure that there's a lot of guidance provided. All right. Thank you, David. Ayesha. I would like to state the position even has taken in South Sudan on election, that it has to be South Sudan is led. South Sudan is decided. South Sudan is held electoral process. And Ayesha has been closely collaborating with the EU. We got this part of the electoral mechanism, as David has already mentioned. From elections, UN is providing support on more practical. A practical aspect through a political parties forum, logistical support to move electoral officers around the country, bringing the best practices through integrated electoral assistance team. We have a pool of very experienced staff who have worked in many countries on election. They come up with their best practices and support to the electoral process in South Sudan. And the office of the special envoy in the Horn of Africa stands ready to support in that process. Thank you. Thank you very much for stating that Ayesha. And it's very, very important to know that as much as there is a multilateral approach, the country still holds its sovereign responsibility to hold elections, to be able to be the key actor in its process and everything. And the other partners come in to support. And that is very important to note. Thank you for that. And so now as we come in to talk about some of the challenges that come with this multilateral approach, what are they and how can they be addressed? Of course, we're going to state them fast. And then we see how they are currently being addressed and how some actually troubles them and have solutions that are yet to be put into action Ayesha. One of the criticisms of multilateralism, we very often hear or see is that it can produce slow decision making and action by taking time to find consensus. And David mentioned in his earlier deliberation that consensus is the most important aspect in this process. And that can be quite a lengthy process to achieve. There are also criticisms regarding setting of sovereign rights. It can lead to time consuming negotiations. Also, it can open space for misunderstanding. However, the solution to all those problems is dialogue and have an open mind on issues to accept other position as well as put forward your own positions without harming others and other institutions or partners in the process. Thank you. Stop here. Thank you, Aishha. And before you come in, David, I just want to note that there are challenges that a country faces as being part of a great organization. And then there's the other side that the organization faces from this specific country that is, you know, from some of the member states, that the challenges they face working with the member states. So maybe you can attach both sides. The key among that I will say, and from a practical point to view, is when it comes to implementation and enforcement of regional agreements. Yes. Due to the unique nature and the unique dynamics of member states, it becomes difficult to implement certain resolutions. If you have been following the UN Security Council, it makes certain resolutions, two certain member states. But those member states, which are also part and parcel of the UN General Assembly, sometimes don't comply. And they've signed and agreed to these resolutions. And it's difficult because, you know, each country is a sovereign entity on its own. So to me, the key here is the shared values. Once you have shared values, which are agreed upon and shared principles, then this hard-or-long comes to enforcement and implementation becomes easier. Another challenge is the-- could be the misfit because, you see, most of the cultural backgrounds of the member states differ. And with that, you have a challenge where the multilateral agencies sometimes feel out of place when they come to their own member states because there is a big gap that they have to bridge. And that needs a lot of engagement. And that's why it's always important to have regular meetings to make sure that people do what they call a common analysis of the core subject so that they're able to have a common vision, which will be able to make such mechanisms and such multilateral agencies smooth and relevant to their member states. OK. Thank you. Thank you. And so just before we look at challenges and solutions, David, you did mention a number of things. And right now, I just want to say, what are some of the negative impacts that come with the failure to implement such things? The importance of multilateralism is to come up with solutions. And some of these solutions are embedded in these agreements and resolutions. But then when it's not implemented, how does that impact the country negatively? And what is the impact for the region as well? Especially after all the meetings and round tables. And the round tables, yes. Go ahead. One is the likelihood that some member states eventually leave such multilateral platforms. You've seen in the West Africa where, you know, early this year, I think in January, one of the multilateral agencies suffered when three countries unilaterally and these are founding members. So this is normally the biggest consequence when it comes to, however, despite that, it's always a slow process. And that's why diplomacy comes in place. And with that, you need to have direct and constant reminders and making sure that the treaties and the agreements that bind these multilateral agencies are leaving documents, not just, you know, absolute. You have to give room for them to be opened up, to be reviewed, to be revised, and to be updated so that new and upcoming concerns are addressed to avoid those severe consequences. Thank you for stating that. And Aisha, what are some of the ways to address such challenges that are constantly faced in this multilateral system? I think David has covered it quite well, focusing on the goal, focusing on the end result where we want to reach suffering of people. So if we keep those in mind and if we, in addition to national interest, we also need to focus on how to minimize or mitigate the sufferings of people. And we have to try to stay at the table. I mean, can't underestimate the importance that we keep talking. I mean, we continue to dialogue on the issues, not to derail ourselves like David has mentioned on some initiatives that the founding members left because of the lengthy process or not having consensus for a long time. That's all from my side. Yes, thank you so much. And speaking on ways to address these challenges, the UN does have a permanent mission for every member state in New York. So for South Sudan, what is the role of this permanent mission? South Sudan's permanent mission to the UN in New York. On 9th July, 2011, South Sudan became the world's newest nation and opened a permanent mission in New York, UN HQ. Currently, it is led by Ambassador Cecilia Deng. Permanent missions organize and coordinate their member state's participation in the work of the UN for each country, like the permanent mission of South Sudan represents the position of South Sudan in the UN or the issues that are being discussed at the HQ with the other general assembly or security council members. Yep. No, yes, thank you. And for E-GAD, is there a way to have-- is there a representative for South Sudan and E-GAD? And what role do they play? E-GAD, as you were, the headquarters is in Djibouti. And the approach taken is to have mission offices out of the secretariat. That means in the seven countries, you have mission offices, such as the one in Djibout, headed by the head of mission. And the key being to enhance engagement and to ensure that this organization, E-GAD, and all other multilateral agencies is having a direct presence and a direct link with the stakeholders on the ground and to make sure that the visibility is there. So that is the mechanism that is in Djibouti. And as we are concluding the conversation, let's look at the consequence globally when countries, member states, for multilateral agencies fail to play their role. How does it affect, say, a region or the global, you know, the whole world in this case? Ayesha? That is disastrous, I mean, when we are unable to address the global issues. But I would focus on positive sides in the region, in Horn of Africa. We have-- let me focus on the issues that we are dealing in current days. It is very complex and challenging for political transitions. The countries are undergoing. We have internal sub-national conflicts. We have growing economic inequalities. Climate change is a big issue for all the countries. Food insecurity, tension over access to natural resources, especially water and fertile land. We have long lasting border disputes, terrorism, extremism, as well as activities of criminal networks operating across the borders. And all these issues have rendered the region, especially Horn of Africa, into a more fragile region which hosts the highest number of internally displaced persons and refugees on the continent. And through this multilateralism approach, UN, AU has been working. I mean, AU is supporting the implementation of a revitalized agreement in South Sudan. EGAD, UN is an-- I mean, we are active partners. We have been working to reach an agreement between Sudan and South Sudan on the final status of ABA. And UN stands ready to support the AU EGAD to escalate South Sudanese ongoing conflict. We also have seen UN supporting the AU mediation process regarding the dispute over the grand Ethiopian and working with partners and member states to build consensus. An agreement on collaboration and management of Nile Waters. David mentioned about Nile Waters initiative earlier. Also, in northern Ethiopia, UN has been supporting the AU to implement cessation of hostilities to address inter-PS internal challenges. In Somalia, we have seen UN engaging in joint efforts with AU and other member states to support the ongoing Somali security transition towards the planned exit of African Indian transition mission in Somalia, which is ending in this year. And coordinating closely with EGAD and other member states to support Somalia's political and state building process. EGAD has-- maybe I should leave the border-- management of border disputes of EGAD with David. I can mention another great initiative that can fall under East African community that South Sudan, Ethiopia, Djibouti, transport code and corridor project. Once implemented, it will address the development challenge in South Sudan. And it will bring huge infrastructure development to the region in general. Thank you so much. I leave it today, David. Thank you so much, Aisha. Time is actually spent now. And David, maybe you could just briefly conclude by mentioning the potential for if all countries actually embraced multilateralism and came together and were able to act on these agreements and everything, just in a few words, 15, 30 seconds. If that is to be brief, the main opportunity and the main benefit, if all actors come on board is we will avoid using lateral actions. We will reduce the fractures and the divisions that are seen, not only at a global level, but even at a regional level. We'll have more cooperation, especially when it comes to trade and logistics and the movement of goods. As we have seen in many cases, when we have border disputes, the first thing is that tracks get stuck and you have goods on the cost of logistics going up. So the main benefit is to ensure that our common needs are well addressed in a very cost effective and a very peaceful manner. Thank you so much. Thank you, David and Aisha, for joining us on Democracy in Action. Today, it's been lovely having you. And we've unpacked a lot. Thank you so much. Thank you for having us. All right. Well, that brings us to the end of Democracy in Action. Today, we have the news at the top of the hour. Bye-bye. 101 FM about the nation across the nation. Radio, Miraya.