The Civil Society Youth Platform in the Nuba Mountains has launched the “Hiban Peace Initiative” as an independent community initiative aimed at supporting peace efforts, creating safe spaces for dialogue, and building trust among different local groups and stakeholders. The initiative seeks to help protect civilians, reduce escalation, and preserve social cohesion.
The platform said the initiative plans, in the coming period, to engage with the authorities of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement–North, the Atoro traditional mediation mechanism, the Nuba Mountains Regional Government, as well as traditional and religious leaders, Hiban tribal mediation groups, youth, women, and civil society organizations.
The initiative will seek to hear different perspectives, expand spaces for dialogue and understanding, encourage efforts to de-escalate tensions, and amplify the voice of peace.
Volunteer activist in South Kordofan, Yousif Kartikila, told Mashaweer that “the initiative will work to mobilize community capacities and efforts to promote a culture of peaceful coexistence, support and encourage local initiatives, and strengthen the role of youth and women as active partners in peacebuilding and developing solutions.”
He explained that “expanding community participation can help build trust and strengthen dialogue among the different groups and stakeholders in the region, while creating space for local initiatives capable of addressing the root causes of tensions and conflict.”
Meanwhile, Nuba Mountains community leader Yasser Kambal told Mashaweer that they reject war and violence in Sudan, stressing that a just and sustainable peace is the path toward preserving human dignity and achieving security, justice, and development.
Kambal called for an end to the war in the Nuba Mountains and for creating the conditions for an inclusive dialogue that places the interests of people above all else.
He emphasized the importance of local communities participating in peace efforts and in decisions concerning the future of the region.
