The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs on Thursday discussed South Sudan’s progress in the ratification and implementation of the Geneva Conventions, International Humanitarian Laws, and other conventions since independence in 2011.
Addressing reporters shortly after the meeting, Florence Gillette, Head of Delegation of the ICRC in South Sudan, said they deliberated with Justice Minister Ruben Madol Arol about ongoing, potential, and future cooperation in ensuring the domestication of some of the ratified instruments, prospects for new ratification and how to support efforts in disseminating those instruments with all the relevant stakeholders in the country.
“We also discussed the series of challenges faced in South Sudan regarding various aspects linked to the justice system in particular. As you know, the ICRC is quite active in detention and looking forward to how to cooperate and further work on what solutions to improve treatment and conditions of detentions by cooperating with the Ministry of Justice” she said. “Among the many challenges that are faced in times of these economic and financial challenges in a country that is now 13 years old, but still new, is how you manage to get enough attention to priorities, to some of those files, and this includes how you manage to get each ministry to get the necessary resources.”
Gillette added: “The ICRC has a rule in guarding and promoting disseminating International Humanitarian Laws and we can continue to provide, on request when necessary, expertise and we do support some efforts of dissemination of the laws.”
She said ICRC has already been working with the armed and security forces, the South Sudan Red Cross, and for a long time with the National Prison Service.
For his part, Dr. Gabriel Isaac Awow, Undersecretary in the Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs, said they discussed crucial and very important issues, one of which is the role of the ICRC in South Sudan in humanitarian assistance.
“They (ICRC) also want to make sure that South Sudan, as part of the global and international community, has ratified and acceded to most of the international instruments, especially the Geneva Conventions,” he said. “The minister confirmed to her that according to our mandate as the ministry in charge to give the opinion on any legal instrument, we are ready to receive those instruments from the line ministries and immediately will give our legal opinion and will send it through the necessary enactment processes”
He said the ICRC pledged to provide technical assistance in ensuring that the detention centers are decongested through training to the legal counsels.
“ICRC gave their assurance that they will be in a position with the limited resources to support how to resolve this issue of congestion in the prison so that we make sure that the rights of the inmates are protected” Dr. Awow stated. “We also agreed that the ICRC will provide training on humanitarian issues so that the legal counsels and other rule of law institutions will be equipped with information related to the international and regional instruments.”