A group of South Sudanese and international civil society organizations and advocacy groups have written to the Joint Monitoring and Evaluation Commission (JMEC) headed by former Botswana Festus Mogae asking for support for justice in South Sudan.

The groups in a joint letter called on JMEC to reaffirm its commitment to justice, truth and reparations for crimes committed during the course of the conflict in South Sudan. This comes after a New York Times article published in the name of Salva Kiir and Riek Machar (though Machar denies authorship) that opposed creation of a hybrid court.

Civil society groups authoring the article asked JMEC to urge the African Union Commission to quickly press ahead with the development of the hybrid court, and to start a public consultation process in South Sudan to ensure South Sudanese citizens and civil society actively participate in the establishment of the court.

“The Hybrid Court is just one element of the transitional justice mechanisms that the President and First Vice-President committed to in the peace agreement. But it is a crucially important element. Without the Hybrid Court, the culture of impunity will continue unabated, and the path to peace will be jeopardised,” reads the letter.

Signatories to the letter include South Sudan Law Society, Waging Peace, Centre for Human Rights at University of Pretoria, South Sudan Action Network on Small Arms, Community Empowerment for Progress Organization, Africa Peace Forum, Amnesty International, Voice for Change, and others.

File photo: Festus Mogae is tasked with monitoring implementation of South Sudan's peace agreement