“A Letter from the Ambassador of Japan to South Sudan”

As South Sudan starts to implement the Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict, one of its major challenges is to establish a framework that ensures security in the country. At a public event I attended last week, a high-ranking guest of honor from the Government of South Sudan made an encouraging statement; “The mother of everything is peace and security”. Indeed, no one can take action unless security is ensured. This is what I feel most strongly about since I was posted to Juba this spring.

Japan’s support for the South Sudan National Police Service has greatly improved the daily life of the people. In Japan, an emergency call service is quite common and available everywhere. However, there was no such service in a newly-independent South Sudan. Therefore, Japan decided to work with UNDP to introduce the Emergency Call Centre in Juba, Number “777”.

The Police are strongly committed to provide necessary staff and vehicles. The City of Juba established street names and plot numbers to identify callers’ exact locations. Mobile phone companies too extended support for emergency calls and facility maintenance. Ambulance service was also introduced. This marked a huge Public-Private Partnership success.

The “777” service took effect on July 15 last year. It has already become an indispensable service for ordinary citizens in addressing crimes and violence as well as maternity complications. Japan and UNDP continue to support the Police to replicate the “777” experience in Wau, the second largest city, by next year.

An operator at the Emergency Call Centre in Juba	Public advertisement for the emergency call service

Japan has also responded to the request from the Police Service to facilitate community policing through the establishment of Special Protection Units (SPUs) for the vulnerable population, such as women and children, across the country. Last month, I made a visit to Wau to observe their activities.

Community policing is an initiative to organize regular committee meetings among police officers, community chiefs and women group leaders in respective districts to share information on recent criminal incidents and to discuss how to cope with them. Due to personnel and budgetary constraints in South Sudan, Japan’s “KOBAN” approach with a police officer in each precinct may not be able to be emulated. Still, committee meetings have facilitated information-sharing and generated mutual trust, thereby achieving a notable decline in criminal activities.

Special Protection Units (SPUs) were created to address criminal and violence cases involving women and children. At the Muktha Police Station in northwestern Wau, a female police officer leading the SPU there explained to me that it dealt with 57 cases of crimes and violence involving the vulnerable population and put 29 children in custody. I was glad to know that the SPU has already achieved major tangible outcomes. Nevertheless, steady improvement is necessary as the police confront lack of detention facilities and end up packing men, women and children altogether in one room.

At a Police Community Relations Committee meeting	With SPU Chief at a Police Station in the northwestern city of Wau

Of recent, I came across a view that South Sudan needs three key drivers to promote nation-building and progress toward peace and prosperity, i.e., i) a vision as a new state, ii) institution building, and iii) sound economic management. I share this view, and Japan assists South Sudan exercise leadership on all these fronts.

As the implementation of the Agreement on the Resolution of Conflict makes headway, Japan will continue to encourage the efforts of the South Sudan National Police Service to ensure citizens’ security, which forms the basis of all the above and directly affects people’s daily lives. South Sudan just started its long journey as a new nation; I sincerely hope that, in 10 to 20 years’ time, the “777” emergency call service will be made available from any street corner in South Sudan and that the police gain the full trust of communities to serve the vulnerable population thoroughly.