Law student Deng Machok speaks on Eye Radio's Dawn Show. April 11, 2024. (Photo: Awan Moses).

A law student at the University of Juba is calling on the government to provide more professional trainings to security personnel to successfully execute their mandates.

Kuol Machok said the trainings will help the organized forces understand the human rights laws.

According to Africa Center for Strategic Studies, countries emerging from conflict confront numerous challenges relating to the reform of their security sectors.

The research center says South Sudan’s alleged failure to carry out meaningful reforms of the national army is partly to blame for the eruption of the crisis in December 2013.

Mr Machok, meanwhile, stated that more and better trainings for all security agencies is vital for them to be well experienced on the national and international laws.

Machok added that the government should prioritize the welfare of the security personnel, as the individuals in charge of ensuring that the rule of law is respected in the country.

“One of the problems facing the implementation of freedom from torture is that most of the security personnel or the law enforcement agencies are not trained, and that is the major problem,” he said.

“So, one of the solutions that have to be in place to solve this problem is to provide proper training and education for law enforcement agencies, like for example the security.”

“There is a need to prioritize education, because when we prioritize education, that means people who work with law enforcement agencies will be informed about the importance of human rights, and also the mechanisms that they have to take in order to ensure that human rights are protected.”

Amnesty International said South Sudanese authorities have arbitrarily arrested, detained, tortured and ill-treated people despite repeated promises to release detainees.

On March 30th, 2024, former Juba Mayor Kalisto Lado was kidnapped near his residence by armed security personnel to an undisclosed location, according to his family.

It now two weeks since his enforced disappearance and his wife, Ann Grace says his whereabouts remain unknown. Security agencies have also declined to comment about the arbitrary detention.