A civil society organization in South Sudan’s Yei River State has called on the Inter-governmental Authority on Development, the Joint Monitoring and Evaluation Commission, the African Union and the international community to speedily implement the establishment of a hybrid court in South Sudan.
Parties to the 2015 Agreement on the Resolution of Conflict in South Sudan (ARCISS) agreed to the formation of a hybrid court that would try those accused of violating human rights in the country.
According to Malish Cosmos, the program manager of the civil society body organization for socio-economic transformation said Yei River State is one of the states in South Sudan that has witnessed a grave wave of human rights abuses.
Cosmos further said despite relative peace being experienced in the state, human rights violations committed by both soldiers and rebels are still being witnessed in the area. He noted that victims to these violations need documentation that will ease the process of tracing justice.
“Our country has a lot of problems more especially Yei River State that has witnessed insurgencies in which many of the citizens are exposed to human rights abuses. Some of the abuses perpetrated by parties to the conflict included sexual harassment, rape, targeted killing and looting of properties. All these calls for accountability,” Cosmos said.
Cosmos also stated that for the national dialogue to yield its targeted objectives, there is a need for accountability. “We will present these issues to the national dialogue committee so that we have a lasting peace in the country” he said.