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UN rights chair urges support for Transitional Justice in Tumaini peace initiative

Author: Emmanuel Akile | Published: December 12, 2024

Yasmin Sooka, Chairperson of the UN Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan, speaking during a press conference in Juba in February 2024. Photo Credit Charles Wote/Eye Radio.

The head of the UN Human Rights Commission in South Sudan is urging all parties involved in the Tumaini peace initiative to support the implementation of transitional justice, accountability, reconciliation, and healing as outlined in the 2018 peace agreement.

Yasmin Sooka, the chairperson of the Commission said Tumaini should also ensure the operationalization of reparation and compensation authority.

She said the institutions are critical for justice, the rule of law and lasting peace in South Sudan.

According to her, the Tumaini initiative should not temper with chapters five and six of the 2018 revitalized peace agreement but rather strengthen them.

“Our mission here is to ensure that Chapter Five and Chapter Six institutions are preserved and not tampered with and that the Tumaini peace process reinforces the importance of both establishing and ensuring the effectiveness of these institutions,” said Sooka in an exclusive interview in Nairobi.

“The Commission on Truth, Healing, and Reconciliation, the Reparations and Compensation Authority, and a permanent constitution are fundamental to the peace process. These are the building blocks that must be established before any peace process can be considered complete,” she stated.

“The success of South Sudan’s peace process depends on the commitment to institution building, governance, and accountability, ensuring these become central features of the country’s future structure,” she stated.

“A social contract, embodied by a permanent constitution, is essential to the peace process. Without it, there can be no true end to the conflict and no lasting peace in South Sudan.”

“We are here to ensure that South Sudan’s governance and accountability structures are not just built but also fully functional, for the benefit of all its people.”

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