CEPO to train 50 journalists on accurate reporting on refugees, IDPs & Returnees
3 min readPress Release: Community Empowerment for Progress Organization (CEPO), a South Sudan civil society body, to train Journalists on accurate reporting on Refugees, IDPs and Returnees issues in line with the implementation of R-ARCSS
Friday, January 04, 2019 (PW) — A South Sudanese civil society organization says it intends to train 50 journalists on refugees, Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) and returnees’ issues enshrined in the Revitalized Agreement on Resolution of the Conflict in South Sudan (R-ARCSS).
Edmund Yakani, the executive director for Community Empowerment for Progress Organization (CEPO) said the training, to be held from 14-16 January, will equip journalists with skills for accurate reporting on refugees, IDPs and returnees’ concerns in the peace agreement.
“It is aimed at enhancing capacities of South Sudanese journalists on accurate reporting on refugees, IDPs and returnees concerns in accordance with the implementation of the Revitalized Agreement on the Resolution of Conflict in South Sudan,” said Yakani.
The project, he said, was designed by CEPO’s program of partnership with journalists on R-ARCSS with the objective to empower journalists with knowledge and skills to consistency and accurately report on refugees, IDPs and returnees during the R-ARCSS implementation.
South Sudan’s violent conflict, which started in December 2013 and still on-going have created over 2.2 million refugees who have sought safety in Uganda, Sudan, Ethiopia, Kenya, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) as well as the Central African Republic (CAR). According to the United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR), there are at least 1.9 million people internally displaced inside South Sudan.
Yakani said having silent voices on refugees, IDPs and returnees would imply less attention is be paid to these marginalized groups of people. “Through various survey reports of CEPO, it was realized that majority of the journalists have inadequate knowledge and skills on reporting on refugees, IDPs and returnees matters accurately,” he stressed.
Yakani further said the training of journalist, to be conducted in all the country’s states, will influence the upcoming African Union head of states and governments from the 32nd Ordinary Session of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the African Union (AU) will take place from 15 January to 11 February 2019, under the theme “Refugees, Returnees and Internally Displaced Persons: Towards Durable Solutions to Forced Displacement in Africa”.
A written petition, he added, will later be presented to the African Union South Sudan mission to be shared at the AU summit on matters related to South Sudanese refugees, IDPs and returnees settings.
The Community Empowerment for Progress Organization (CEPO) is a non-profit, civil society, South Sudanese organization, registered by the Ministry of Justice on 17th November 2010. The organization was initially formed in Khartoum in 1999 and consisted of mostly University students, but its scope broadened after it was established in Juba, Southern Sudan as a separate entity. Presently, CEPO is engaged in the areas of Peace and conflict mitigation, human rights, rule of law, livelihood, governance and democratic transformation. Mr. Edmund Yakani Berizilious is the Executive Director of CEPO. You can reach CEPO via their official email: CEPO South Sudan <ceposouthsudan@gmail.com>
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