The Center for Peace and Advocacy (CPA), a South Sudanese civil society organization, has called on the US Embassy in Juba to clarify the exclusion of South Sudan from the Community Solutions Program for the 2023-2024 and 2024-2025 cycles.
CPA said in a press release that it was deeply concerned that South Sudan had been left out for the past two years, despite other East African nations being included in the global program.
The press release regretted that last year’s applicants from South Sudan, including the CPA’s executive director’s, received no feedback.
“This lack of response may discourage South Sudanese citizens from applying for future opportunities offered by the United States, a leading global contributor to peace, justice, democracy, human rights, and the rule of law,” it said.
Many South Sudanese have reached out to CPA, requesting the US Embassy in Juba to provide concrete and satisfactory answers, it added.
The US embassy in Juba could not immediately be reached for comment.
The Community Solutions Program invites applications worldwide for a four-month fellowship on leadership, human rights, democracy, the environment, and other critical areas.