Three members of the UN Human Rights Commission have called on the international community to form an independent mechanism in advance of the establishment of the hybrid court in South Sudan.
They say this is to assist in investigating violations in the country.
As part of the 2015 Peace Agreement, the African Union is mandated to establish a hybrid court for South Sudan, with the Peace Agreement also providing for a truth commission and reparations authority.
The Commission is due to present its report monitoring the human rights situation and making recommendations on accountability to the Human Rights Council in Geneva on 14 March 2017.
In a statement published on the website of UN human rights office of the high commissioner, Ms Yasmin Sooka, the team leader, said an international independent investigative mechanism for South Sudan needs to be set up.
“Too many of those who say ‘justice should only come later’ really mean ‘justice should never come at all,” said Ms. Sooka.
“It’s imperative to start collecting evidence of violations immediately, even before the hybrid court is established.”
For his part Commissioner Ken Scott noted that “Critical evidence is being lost every day as witnesses are killed or disappear, as memories fade, and physical evidence degrades”.
The statement says as part of its mandate to engage with stakeholders and provide guidance on transitional justice, the Commission organized a 3-day workshop in Addis Ababa to discuss transitional justice mechanisms.
Commissioner Godfrey Musila said what came across from discussions is the difficulty of planning transitional justice structures due to conflict in the country.