As the world marks the International Youth Day, a South Sudanese civil society organization is urging youth on both sides of the conflict to work for peace and stability.

Majority of young people are involved in the ongoing violence, according to officials.

The Youth Initiative for Peace calls upon youth to avoid tribalism and put the interests of the country above their own.

“Regardless of what, if we don’t accept that we are South Sudanese, we will face a lot of problems,” said Teresa Lam, acting Chairperson.

“South Sudan should be above my tribe. South must be above my state, because when we voted and separated [from Sudan], it was for South Sudan. We didn’t vote for a certain tribe.”

The International Youth Day is marked annually to highlight opportunities and challenges for the youth and encourage them to participate in decision making processes.

This year, the theme is: “Youth civic engagement”.