Juba conference unites Jonglei and GPAA women
Juba’s Boma Hall resounded with determined voices as women from Jonglei State and the Greater Pibor Administrative Area convened for a pioneering conference on peace and leadership.
Organised by Peace Canal, the Peacebuilding Opportunities Fund and Peace Partners, the gathering built on recommendations adopted at the Inter-Community General Stakeholders meeting held from 1–3 July 2025 in the capital.
High-level attendance signals political commitment
Governor Riak Gai Kok led the Jonglei delegation, while Chief Administrator Peter Guzulu Maze headed the GPAA team. Their presence underscored a shared belief that durable stability depends on women’s inclusion in negotiations and decision-making structures.
Dialogue tackles trust deficit and child abduction
Participants focused on rebuilding inter-communal trust and expanding women’s roles in dispute resolution. Particular attention centred on ending child abduction and reuniting separated children with their families, an issue that has scarred relations between the two territories for years.
Women outline roadmap for shared development
Speakers stressed that women can spearhead economic initiatives transcending ethnic lines, from market revitalisation to education projects. “Our communities thrive when mothers feel safe to trade, farm and send children to school,” one delegate remarked, capturing the room’s consensus.
From forum to action: sustaining the momentum
By the final session, delegates pledged to establish local peace committees, monitor child-protection efforts and brief state authorities on progress. The atmosphere blended cautious optimism with resolve: a collective intent to transform dialogue in Juba into tangible gains on the ground.