Prison officers trained in Transitional Justice in South Sudan. | Photo: Courtesy

More than 30 National Prison Service Officers including 10 females in Juba underwent training on Transitional Justice in South Sudan.

Transitional justice refers to how societies respond to the legacies of massive and serious human rights violations, according to the International Center for Transitional Justice.

The two-day training which ended on Thursday June 15, aims to discuss justice at the prisons, and inmates’ human rights.

It was organized by National Prisons Service and supported by the Human Rights Department of the UN Mission in South Sudan.

The Deputy Director General of the South Sudan National Prisons Service, Lieutenant General John Gai calls on officers to implement the knowledge they have learned from the training.

“This workshop is important for the presence of senior officers in the prison service. After this training, I think you are now ready to apply what you learned in the workshop on the ground,” said Gai.

“There are the same workshops for transitional justice that are held in the rest of the departments, so I hope that you will implement what you have learned well.”

For his part, Mr. Isaac Lupaia, head of the Transitional Justice Division of UNMISS, said human rights are for every member of society, even if they are imprisoned.

“I have an observation that a prison service very well disciplined is one human right pillar, and that’s why everybody has right even in the prison,” Lupaia said.

“We expect that every human is fully given her or his right, whether in or out the prison. When you’re in prison, the only right you see is to walk out in in the free world and free society.”

Fidenica Charles Lado, acting head of the Human Rights Commission of South Sudan says the training is to equip prison officers with more knowledge on how prisoners should be treated.

“I believed that as common citizens of South Sudan, we have been affected by the war in one way or another, so this chapter 5 of the 2018 peace agreement is for all of us people of South Sudan because it talking about justice.”

“We are with prison officers to get more knowledge and awareness on transitional justice so we have discussed until the last day.”