South Sudan: Support for transitional justice processes critical to building sustainable peace, United Nations (UN) Experts say after Ethiopia mission

The UN Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan has called on the African Union (AU) and the international community to intensify their support for the peace process and a holistic transitional justice program to ensure sustainable peace in South Sudan.

The UN Commission welcomed the recently enacted laws establishing the Commission for Truth, Reconciliation, and Healing (CTRH) and Compensation and Reparation Authority (CRA), and urged the AU to throw its weight behind the Government of South Sudan and provide the necessary support to operationalize the laws. The Commission also urged the AU to renew its efforts to revive the stalled process of establishing the Hybrid Court for South Sudan. The three transitional justice mechanisms together with critical state-building measures provided for under the 2018 Revitalized Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in the Republic of South Sudan form the cornerstone of the country’s path toward healing, accountability, and lasting peace.

Commissioner Barney Afako led a mission from 18–22 November 2024 to Addis Ababa in Ethiopia, which hosts the headquarters of the AU. The Commission’s delegation met with the AU Ad Hoc Committee on South Sudan (C5 group), AU Commission focal points on legal matters, conflict prevention, governance, human rights, and transitional justice, as well as the AU Peace and Security Council. They also engaged with civil society representatives and diplomats.

“Despite the numerous setbacks, this is not the time to abandon South Sudan,” said Afako. “The intensified support of the African Union and other international and regional partners is essential for the timely and credible completion of the country’s delayed political transition. Transitional justice processes are an essential element of South Sudan’s recovery. Along with other foundational measures including the making of a permanent constitution and reforms within the judicial, security and economic sectors, they will contribute to breaking cycles of violent conflict, atrocity crimes, and end entrenched impunity, as well as nurture national cohesion and the recognition of plurality. These measures are thus indispensable for protecting human rights and ensuring sustainable peace in South Sudan.”

In light of the new transitional justice legislation enacted by South Sudan, AU interlocutors acknowledged the need for enhanced coordination between the African Union and the Government of South Sudan to support holistic, survivor-centered and people-driven transitional justice processes. In this regard, they recognized the need for an effective high-level mechanism through which relevant technical and senior AU entities would develop and coordinate strategies for mobilizing technical, financial and political support for achieving holistic transitional justice processes in South Sudan. Initial steps will include adopting, in coordination with UN, a harmonized and transparent process for the selection of credible and competent commissioners for the Truth Commission and members of the Reparation Authority. AU interlocutors also acknowledged the need to re-engage the Government of South Sudan on completing the processes for the establishment of the Hybrid Court as an integral component of the transitional justice processes.

“Establishing a holistic transitional justice system which includes accountability measures, with truth recovery and reparations and rehabilitation institutions, is not just a legal obligation, it is a moral imperative for South Sudan’s leaders,” said Yasmin Sooka, Chair of the Commission. “South Sudan must create the space for open participatory dialogue and the recognition of the immense suffering of its people, while also ensuring that perpetrators of serious human rights violations are held criminally accountable. Accountability in all its forms, including through the Hybrid Court and strengthening avenues for domestic accountability is essential to deal with entrenched impunity, which continues to fuel ongoing conflicts and gross human rights violations in South Sudan.”

The discussions in Addis Ababa underscored the need to implement the recommendations of the October 2024 report of the Judicial Review Commission, which provides the basis for developing immediate and longer-term measures for strengthening the criminal justice system and domestic accountability for gross human rights violations in South Sudan. In this connection, the Commission reiterated that an effective legacy strategy for the Hybrid Court should integrate active capacity and institutional building, as a central component of its mandate.

“South Sudan’s leaders must show the world their commitment to justice by investing in establishing an independent judiciary. Corruption and the diversion of resources continue to undermine the country’s ability to build a functioning judicial system,” said Commissioner Carlos Castresana Fernández. “Strengthening the domestic justice system — by creating a credible and independent judiciary, investing in legal and judicial infrastructure, and rooting out corruption — must be a key priority. While the Hybrid Court is necessary to ensure accountability for the most egregious crimes, it must be complemented by credible domestic accountability, truth-telling, reparations, and critical state-building measures to address the full range of victims’ needs and guarantee non-recurrence of atrocities.”

“With the passing of laws for the Truth Commission and Reparations Authority, South Sudan and the African Union must now advance, with the support of the international community, all the measures agreed in the peace agreement to ensure accountability, truth-telling, and reparations, without which reconciliation and healing will remain elusive,” Sooka said. “The people of South Sudan deserve a peaceful future built on solid foundations of justice.”

The Commission is scheduled to address the UN Human Rights Council in February 2025.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).