By Philip Buda Ladu
The Transitional National Legislative Assembly (TNLA) has ratified two important pieces of legislation—the Commission for Truth, Reconciliation, and Healing (CTRH) Bill 2024 and the Compensation and Reparation Authority (CRA) Bill 2024—to become acts.
Following the passing of these long overdue, important bills by the lawmakers, the President will assent to them, to become laws.
The two legislations are part of the Transitional Justice Bills that were needed to be enacted into laws as stipulated in Chapter 5 of the revitalized peace agreement (R-ARCSS).
Lawmakers emphasized that these bills should have been done since the first year of the revitalized agreement implementation, but unforeseen challenges delayed their enactment.
In December 2023, the Minister of Justice, Hon. Ruben Madol Arol, presented the CTRH and CRA bills in their first reading stages to the parliament during its second session, sitting No. 11/2023.
In accordance with provisions of Regulation 108(1) of the TNLA conduct of Business Regulation 2011 (amended 2021), the House Speaker, Rt. Hon. Jemma Nunu Kumba, then referred the two bills to the select committees for scrutiny and reverted back to the house.
The standing specialized committees for Peace and Reconciliation, Human Rights, and Humanitarian Affairs and the Committee for Legislation and Justice scrutinized the bills and presented their joint report to the House in July 2024.
Bona Deng Lawrence, the chairperson of the Committee for Peace and Reconciliation presented their report with observations, amendments, and clerical corrections in the second reading stage.
Thereafter, the August House passed the two bills to their third reading stages after thorough deliberation from MPs.
During Tuesday’s assembly sitting No. 38/2024, dated September 3, 2024, the chairperson of the Committee for Peace and Reconciliation again tabled the two crucial bills in their third and final reading stages.
Mr. Deng, after his presentations, requested that the August House deliberate on the details of these bills concurrently in their third reading stage and pass them to the fourth and final reading stages with all the observations and recommendations.
Thus, the speaker of the house opened the floor for MPs’ delve into the details of the bills in the third, fourth, and final reading stage, in which clerical and grammatical errors were identified and amended.
Motions were moved at separate intervals for the termination of the debates on the two bills, and the House unanimously passed the legislation from the third reading stages to the fourth and final stage with all the observations and amendments in totality, chapter by chapter.
The ratification of these bills, which will soon come into force with the signature of the president, will set the groundwork for the establishment of compensation and healing institutions to take the country forward.
The purpose of the Commission for Truth, Reconciliation, and Healing Act, 2024, is to establish the commission to spearhead efforts to address the legacy of conflicts and promote peace, national reconciliation, and healing.
Meanwhile, the Compensation and Reparation Authority (CRA) Act 2024 will provide for the establishment of a compensation and reparation authority to govern matters and processes of compensation and reparation.
Commenting on the legislation process, Rt. Hon. Speaker Jemma Nunu Kumba commended the MPs for the effective deliberations on the two important bills related to the peace agreement.
“Everybody has been waiting for these bills, and now that they have been passed, some aspects of the provisions of the revitalized agreement can actually be effected. So we have done our part and passed now to the executive,” Nunu underscored.