By William Madouk
There is growing pressure on the Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs to expedite the Missing Persons Bill.
The bill aims to safeguard the rights of missing persons and their families, it also ensures that they receive the essential support needed throughout the search process.
Hellen Ngadok Lukuryang, a member of the specialized committee on Human Rights and Humanitarian Affairs challenged the Minister of Justice and Constitutional Affairs to prioritize the advancement of this bill.
“I would like to challenge the Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs to speed up the process of [missing persons] bill and bring it to the parliament and we will be ready to pass that bill,” said Ngadok.
She made this remark on Friday during the commemoration of the International Day of Disappeared organized by the International Committee of the Red Cross and South Sudan Red Cross.
“As we have already started, there is no turning back until we see South Sudan that is free from human disappearance,” Ngadok added.
“Let me on behalf of the parliament and the standing specialized committee on Human Rights and Humanitarian Affairs, to register our full support as we continue to seek justice and accountability for the disappeared people,” she noted.
No.1 Citizen Newspaper established that the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Disaster Management had finalized a draft bill for the missing person and submitted it to the Ministry of Justice.
Meanwhile, Mr. William Chan Achuil, the Undersecretary in the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs also called on the Ministry of Justice to fast-track the missing persons’ bill.
According to him, this would strengthen the tracing and searching of the disappeared in South Sudan.
The head of the ICRC delegation in Juba, Florence Gillette said the missing persons’ bill showed the government’s commitment and would renew hope among the families of the disappeared.
“It reflects the country’s commitment to address the issue of missing persons and brings renewed hope to the families who have long awaited this change,” she stated.
In response, the Deputy Minister of Justice, Joseph Malek Arop said the government is much concerned about missing persons, adding that anybody is under the government’s protection.
“Really we have so many missing persons in South Sudan and it is probably much higher because most disappeared are not registered and the government is working hard to put laws,”
“We have laws but the legal framework which governs the missing persons is not yet been passed into legislation. But we are working with partners to speedy that bill and we passed in the council of ministries and from cabinet to legislature,”
Mr. Malek explained that it’s the Ministry of Justice’s role to ensure that laws that protect human rights are in place.
The commemoration event was attended by CES minister of Gender, Child and Social Welfare, Huda Micah, Mrs Suzan Felix, the acting Director General at the national minister of Gender, Child and Social Welfare and families of missing persons.