The peace proposal drafted by the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD) mandates the creation of a new Compensation and Reparation Authority (CRA) in South Sudan but does not say whether family members of massacre victims will benefit.
The Compensation and Reparation Authority (CRA) is one of three transitional justice institutions mandated by the peace agreement, the other two being a hybrid court and the Commission for Truth, Reconciliation and Healing.
The new institution will administer a Compensation and Reparation Fund, which would be established within six months of the signing of the proposed agreement.
Article V.4.2.d of the agreement states that the new Compensation and Reparation Authority “shall provide material and financial support to citizens whose property was destroyed by the conflict.”
But there is no mention of compensation for loss of human lives, for example, compensation that would be paid to orphans and widows of victims of massacres or targeted killings. The payment of such compensation is customary to murder victims in some South Sudanese cultures.
IGAD’s South Sudan team failed to respond to a written inquiry for clarification sent to them on 25 July, asking whether families of victims would be eligible for compensation, as is sometimes practiced in customary law.
Elsewhere in the proposal, however, the Commission for Truth, Reconciliation and Healing, whose members will be appointed by President Salva Kiir, will be mandated to “recommend processes and mechanisms for the full enjoyment by victims of the right to remedy, including by suggesting measures for reparations and compensation.”
The proposal reads, “In the determination of such remedial processes and mechanisms, the CTRH shall draw on existing traditional practices, processes, and mechanisms, where appropriate.”
Photo: The morgue at the Malakal Teaching Hospital, 21 January 2014 (AP)
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IGAD unveils ‘compromise’ peace proposal [Includes link to full proposal]