The technical committee for the establishment of the Commission for Truth, Reconciliation (CTRH) and Healing arrived in South Sudan’s Eastern Equatoria State on Monday to carry out public consultations.
The three-member committee led by Galdino Ochama Ojok will be in the state for 10 days and will visit the major towns.
Ochama Ojok told the media in Torit town on Tuesday that the consultation process is in line with the implementation of chapter 5 of the 2018 revitalized peace agreement which aims to establish transitional justice mechanisms.
“We are coming here for the consultation process on this issue of the establishment of the Commission for Truth Reconciliation and Healing,” he said. “In the peace agreement of 2018 that is being implemented by the government currently, chapter 5 provides for transitional justice mechanisms and that transitional justice mechanism includes the Commission of Truth, Reconciliation and Healing, a Hybrid Court and the Compensation and Reparation Authority.”
“It provides for the justice ministry to establish a consultation process so that the people of South Sudan are consulted so we are on the mission to consult the people of South Sudan,” he added.
Mary Ajith, a member of the technical committee said they will consult state officials, members of the organized forces, and civil society groups and urged the local population to freely express their views.
“Before we roll out our activities, we want the government to know. We are targeting the government, organized forces, and the civil society within the state,” she said. “We want to know the views of the people the normal person because this is very important for the mechanism. What do they think about this particular commission?”
Meanwhile, Patrick Oting Cyprian, the Eastern Equatoria State information minister, welcomed the technical committee and said their presence will help build trust. He called on the local population to actively participate in the consultation process.
“We are honored to have this Committee for Truth, Reconciliation, and Healing from Juba. Their presence in the state is a blessing to us and as government and we have called all the stakeholders they are coming to meet and get views from,” Oting said. “This is a commission which is very important looking at our situation as South Sudanese, we are broken the blood has been shed, there is bitterness, and this commission will build the trust.”
According to the committee, the views and the findings from the consultation process will be incorporated into the legislation the national justice ministry will present to the Transitional National Legislative Assembly.