Good governance and Peace Building

GOOD GOVERNANCE

We believe that Civil Society action is a criterion for good governance especially when it empowers communities and makes them catalysts for their own change. We support building of democratic, transparent and accountable government institutions that are responsive to the demands of their citizens. A government that provides basic services and acts as a reliable custodian of public resources and where conflicts are managed through inclusive political processes and power is transferred through citizens’ votes.

Promoting Accountability &Transparency

Creating institutions or governments that take responsibility of their decisions and actions. But this must occur in an environment where citizens are sensitized and educated and where good institutional culture is cultivated. CSCOV approaches this through awareness creation i.e. by educating citizens and raising awareness on the importance of their participation in key decisionmaking processes e.g. awareness on budget and resources allocation by making information on budget more accessible to public and understood by average citizen. CSCOV will also promote institutional cultural awareness on proper management of public resources and how public or private institutions can be accountable to citizens. In addition, CSCOV will play a watchdog role in keeping an eye on state performance.

Access to Justice (A2J) & Respect for Human Rights

In any conflict or post-conflict situation, delivery of justice and upholding of key human rights principles always remain a great challenge and especially when cost of legal advice and representation is high. CSCOV believes that it is only when communities including the vulnerable groups are able to access justice and their rights are protected, is when we can claim existence of strong rule of law. CSCOV will contribute to strengthening access to justice and respect for human rights by empowering the communities, the poor and other vulnerable groups to seek redress for their issues as well as strengthening the capacity of those providing legal protection, provision of legal aid clinics and public outreach on legal and human rights issues.

PEACE-BUILDING

Under its peace building strategy, CSCOV focuses on supporting efforts that build community social cohesion and creating public space for interaction between political leadership and community with meaningful involvement and participation of women. This provides opportunity for citizens to bring their voices to the leadership and together, have a collective position on matters of stability, peace and security.

Community & Political leadership Forums

In conflict or post-conflict situations, the interaction between the leadership and community is always limited and hence, voices that can contribute to positive transformation remains left in the process of conflict transformation, nation building and development. There is existence of narrow or nonexistence of democratic space and thus, CSCOV encourages the interaction or democratic discourse between the upper layer (political leaders) and lower layer (local communities).

Inter-communal Peace Dialogues & Social Cohesion

In South Sudan, ethnic divisions and social exclusion will continue to threaten the political peace and political peace can only be turned into real peace if communities are able come together and dialogue and agree on how to promote social cohesion, interdependencies, peace and reconciliation. CSCOV organizes community peace dialogues facilitated by experts and helps Communities develop their action plans for peace building activities. And ensuring women taking lead in the entire processes of the dialogue