Day: October 11, 2021

Community Empowerment for Progress Organization (CEPO) has strongly condemned the recent inter-communal violence among communities of South Sudan’s Warrap state, urging authorities to find immediate remedies to the conflict.

More than 30 people were killed and scores injured in clashes involving the Thiik and Luachjang communities of Tonj East County and Lou Paher of Tonj North County last week, local officials said.

In a statement issued on Sunday, CEPO’s Executive Director, Edmund Yakani, said the situation in the two counties require government’s response before it escalates further.

“The deadly violence among communities in Tonj North and Tonj East is not new and political elites from the state are silent. No attempt has been made to mitigate violence,” he said.

Yakani urged South Sudan’s President Salva Kiir to intervene before the violence escalates.

“The political elites of Warrap, particularly from Tonj North and Tonj East counties, are largely to be blamed for the deadly violence between the Thiik and Luachjang communities,” he stressed.

Meanwhile, CEPO appealed to the Revitalized Transitional National Legislative Assembly (R-TNLA) to step up efforts to end the violence between Tonj North and Tonj East communities.

According to reports, the routine of intercommunal clashes in many parts of young nation prevails due to lack of efficient justice systems.

Source: Sudan Tribune

A member of the Central Council of the ruling Forces for Freedom and Change (FFC) said that there are signs of flexibility from the parties to the transitional government to resolve the political crisis.

A political crisis erupted between the civilian and military partners of the transitional government, following the failed military coup that took place on September 21.

Following the public blames, the two sides have frozen the meetings of the joint bodies such as the Sovereign Council, Security and Defence Council and interim parliament.

“There are signs of emerging flexibility from all parties to engage in a serious dialogue that leads to a solution to the political crisis,” said al-Wathiq al-Brair National Umma Party Secretary-General and member of the FFC leadership in statements to the Sudan Tribune on Sunday.

He added that the military component has shown flexibility to end the current crisis with the civilians forces according to the mechanism for implementing the Prime Minister’s initiative.

The “Way Forward” mechanism is mediating between the military and civilian components of the transitional government partners. It held a series of meetings with the two parties, who seem to have abandoned the media escalation.

Regarding the statements by the FFC spokesman that they do not accept any mediation to solve the crisis, al-Brair said that “the ruling coalition is open to any solutions and dialogue.

“Without dialogue, we cannot bring the country to safety,” he stressed.

On Thursday, the spokesman of the ruling coalition, Jaafar Hassan, rejected any mediation to end the political crisis erupting with the military.

Hassan said that discussions should focus on the entitlements of the ruling parties as provided in the Constitutional Document.

FFC groups say the current crisis with the military component should lead to address the slow implementation of the security reforms but also the violations of the constitutional texts governing the transition after the recent rejection of the military component to hand over the police and intelligence service to the civilian-led government.

Al-Brair said that the NUP’s political bureau formed a committee to mediate between the two sides and they are developing an approach on the matter.

In a related development, the Sudanese Communist Party described the political crisis between the parties to the transitional government as “a power struggle over the control of state institutions.”

The two sides of the government “rely on the texts of the rejected Constitutional Document and the Juba Agreement, which are both rejected at the national level and among the masses of conflict areas.”

The left party “confirms that it is not siding with any party in this conflict, which is far from the interests of the people and the revolution and confirms its position calling for the overthrow of the government” concluded the statement.

The Communist Party rejects the participation of the military component and the Juba Peace Agreement saying the deal does not represent the two main rebel groups in the Nuba Mountains and Darfur region.

Source: Sudan Tribune

South Sudan’s Revitalized Transitional Government of National Unity (R-TGoNU) and the African Union Commission (AUC) should demonstrate political will and allocate adequate funding for establishment of the country’s transitional justice mechanisms, a group of experts said.

The call emerged at the end of a multi-stakeholders’ workshop organized in the capital, Juba on the theme, ‘Perspectives of South Sudanese Citizens on Transitional Justice Mechanisms last week.

On the 30 January 2021, the government of South Sudan finally agreed to form the Hybrid Court, as stipulated in the 2015 Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in the Republic of South Sudan (ARCSS) and the 2018 Revitalized ARCSS. The court was one of the mechanisms proposed to deal with past abuses committed during more than six years of conflict in the country, alongside the Commission for Truth, Healing and Reconciliation (CTHR), and the Compensation and Reparations Authority (CRA).

The various stakeholders lauded the R-TGONU for the steps taken towards implementation of Chapter V of the Revitalized Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in South Sudan (R-ACRSS) and the critical role of the Technical Committee on the establishment of the CTHR in steering up the process towards enactment of the legislation for establishment of the Commission.

Chapter V of the peace agreement calls for establishing a Hybrid Court, the CTRH and the CRA for transitional justice, accountability, reconciliation and healing institutions for sustainable peace.

The various stakeholders, however, called for fast tracking of the signing of the memorandum of understanding and enactment of legislation on establishment of the Hybrid Court, CTRH and the CRA.

Mary Ayen Majok, the deputy speaker of South Sudan Council of States, said the process of establishing traditional justice mechanism for South Sudan should be inclusive and meaningful.

“Citizens should be informed about what is being discussed at this stakeholder’s workshop since it outcomes affect them,” she said.

Beny Gideon, South Sudan Human Rights Commission (SSHRC) official said the aim of the transitional justice mechanism is to restore justice, peace as well as reconciliation in the country.

“As stakeholders in this process, we should look at available literature, review existing frameworks that can contribute to the implementation of the transition justice mechanisms,” he stressed.

Beny called for an inclusive transitional justice mechanism process.

For his part, however, Solomon A. Dersso from the AUC, said circumstances that gave rise to Chapter V of the September 2018 peace accord originated from governance crisis in the country.

“Chapter V of the peace agreement is more about the people of South Sudan and not the ruling elites of the country,” he stressed.

The AUC official said the essence of transitional justice mechanisms be expanded to include, freedom, justice and equity, taking into consideration institutional and policy reforms in the young nation.

Concerns were also raised on the violent conflicts in the country amidst floods, the COVID-19 pandemic, economic crisis, intra and inter-communal fighting that have continued to cause displacement, poverty, land disputes, illiteracy, loss of lives and properties, sexual violence against women, men, boys and girls.

“We call on the government to ensure a gender sensitive approach to establishing and implementation of the Transitional Justice Mechanisms as key in addressing violations and abuses including conflict related sexual violence against women, men, girls and boys. Women should be a major force in decision making of Chapter V,” partly reads a statement issued at the end of the workshop.

There were also calls for the AU, regional bloc (IGAD), TROIKA, United Nations, international non-governmental organizations and development partners, including TrustAfrica to remain engaged and provide support in the implementation of Chapter V as key to sustainable peace, development and protection of fundamental rights.

Supported by TrustAfrica in collaboration with the AUC and the Centre for Inclusive Governance Peace and Justice (CIGPJ), the event attracted South Sudanese academia, politicians, government officials, civil society, women leaders, youth groups, faith-based leaders and experts from several African countries.

Source: Sudan Tribune