The Vice President in charge of the gender and youth cluster, Rebecca Nyandeng De Mabior, Tuesday, vowed to fight gender-based violence in the country and ensure that perpetrators are brought to book.
She made the remarks while visiting the Special Gender-Based Violence and Juvenile Court in Juba.
“We as a government have a duty to empower our citizens by ensuring that they have access to justice so that they can challenge unfair practices and they can hold those in power accountable for their actions,” Vice President Nyandeng said. “As the chairperson for the gender and youths clusters, I pledge to work hard to see to it that those who harm and abuse others are brought to justice. This court not only facilitates access to justice for survivors, but it also safeguards individual liberty, privacy, security, human dignity.”
She said the inauguration of the Gender-Based Violence and Juvenile Court in December 2020 was a significant milestone in achieving her mission in the fight.
“I hope that by visiting this court today, we can highlight the strength of this institution and elevate public confidence in our judicial process, especially among women and girls,” she stressed.
Also speaking during the same occasion, the speaker of the Transitional National Legislative Assembly, Jema Nunu Kumba, hailed President Salva Kiir for the political will to accept the special court in Juba.
“As a parliament, we have an important role to play in this issue and that is why we are discussing it today. First, I would like to congratulate the president for his support by availing this building and also for the political will that he has for the establishment of this special court to deal with the issues of gender-based violence and juvenile cases,” Speaker Kumba said.
“I was part of the conversation to establish such a court together with the partners from the judiciary when I was a minister of gender and I am glad that my successor, Ayaa Benjamin Warile, has taken it together with our partners to this level,” she added.
For her part, Gender Minister Warile said women and girls across the country continue to suffer the brunt of domestic and gender-based violence.
“South Sudanese women and girls continue to experience challenges with limited protection. Even in their families where they are supposed to be free, they still have issues related to the right to divorce, custody of children, inheritance of property whether from their fathers or from their deceased husbands,” she said.
Minister Warile added that early and forced marriages, domestic violence, and rape continue to affect women and girls.
“Women and girls are particularly vulnerable to violence in the hands of men who are supposed to be protecting them,” she said.
The function was attended by Human Rights Ambassador Bahia Tahzib-Lie, Chief Justice Chan Reech Madut, youth and sports minister, Dr. Abino Akol, Ambassador Jelte Van Wieren of the Kingdom of Netherlands, and UNDP Resident Representative Dr. Samuel Doe among others.
The Gender-Based Violence and Juvenile Court was inaugurated in December 2022 to give justice to victims of rape, gender-based violence, and related crimes.