S.Sudan: AU Supports Transitional Justice for Sustainable Peace

Military Chiefs of South Sudan, June 6 , 2024 Photo: @SouthSudanGov

June 7, 2024 Hour: 8:01 pm

Gabriel Isaac Awow, undersecretary for the Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs, said they have already established the Commission on Truth, Healing and Reconciliation and the Compensation and Reparation Authority as stipulated in Chapter 5 of the 2018 revitalized peace agreement.

On Thursday, the African Union (AU) Mission in South Sudan called on the government to implement the transitional justice mechanism under Chapter 5 of the 2018 revitalized peace agreement to address the legacies of the conflict as well as promote peace and reconciliation.

Deputy Head of the AU Mission in South Sudan Prosper Nii Nortey Addo noted that the transitional justice mechanism is critical to the peacebuilding process in South Sudan, adding that if implemented, it would help establish an accurate and impartial historical record of human rights violations.

“Transitional justice is essential in addressing crimes and violations of the past; it helps establish the truth and reconcile victims, survivors, and perpetrators. It also provides for healing, compensation, and reparation for abuses suffered either through past conflicts or dictatorial tendencies of past authoritarian regimes,” Addo said during the opening of the two-day workshop on transitional justice in Juba, the capital of South Sudan.

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— European Interest (@EuropeInterest) May 31, 2024

Agatha Ndonga, head of the International Center for Transitional Justice, said traditional justice mechanisms incorporate some elements of transitional justice that are relevant for sustainable peace and development in South Sudan. “This mechanism does play a key role in resolving disputes or mending relationships to realize the much sought-after communal reconciliation and cohesion.”

South Sudan is seeking to recover from years of conflict since its outbreak in December 2013.

The conflict, which killed tens of thousands and displaced millions internally and externally, erupted following a political disagreement between President Salva Kiir and his then-first vice president, Riek Machar, leading to a split within the national army.