By Yiep Joseph
Executive Director of Community Empowerment for Progress Organization (CEPO), Edmund Yakani, has renewed his call upon President Salva Kiir to establish a Truth and Reconciliation Commission.
Once established, the commission will document crimes, promote reconciliation, and recommend reparations for victims.
He stressed that the establishment of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in 2025 is essential for a positive and productive beginning in the implementation of the peace agreement.
In a press statement, Yakani asserted that the early establishment of the commission would tangibly demonstrate the government’s commitment to the full and effective implementation of the peace agreement.
“I would like to appeal to the leadership of the country for early establishment of the Commission for Truth Healing and Reconciliation Compensation Reparation Authority as per the requirement of the law signed by the President last year,” Yakani said.
Yakani’s call follows President Salva Kiir’s signing of the Truth, Healing, Reconciliation, and Compensation Reparation Authority Act last year.
He added that the commission will pave the way for efforts to promote peace, national reconciliation, and healing, which are fundamental for genuine peace.
“We believe that for any political transitional process to be successful, it requires functional transitional justice.” He expressed.
The activist, however, called on the president and the government to focus on ensuring that those appointed are people of high integrity as well as clear records.
“We would like to appeal to the leadership of the country that individuals who will be assigned as commissioners for this institution should be people of high integrity, non-participants, and clean records,” he said.
He expressed that being a sensitive commission, there is a need to assign people with verse skills and knowledge in order to ensure there is genuine reconciliation in the country.
“As civil society, we also call upon the RTGoNU to engage the African Union (AU) on the formation of a hybrid court,” he said.
“Even if it means training our judges on the case of the hybrid court, that will be a positive beginning,” he added.
He urged the government to ensure inclusivity, including 35% women’s representation and the inclusion of persons with disabilities, during the reconstitution of the Truth, Healing, and Reconciliation Commission.
Edmund Yakani argues that persons with disabilities were disproportionately affected by the violence of 2013 and directly experienced the impact of the broken social fabric.
He stated that the government should consider appointing one person with disabilities as a member of the commission. Additionally, two of the other four commissioners should be women, as required.
According to the Revitalized Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in the Republic of South Sudan, the Truth, Healing, and Reconciliation Commission will be comprised of seven commissioners.
Three of these commissioners, including one woman, will be appointed by the African Union after being identified by the government of South Sudan.
The CEPO Director appealed to the government to engage with the African Union early in the process to facilitate the identification and selection of the remaining three commissioners from African countries.
“While the swift establishment of this commission is crucial, it is equally important to ensure inclusivity in its formation as per the requirements of the law,” said Yakani.
He further emphasized that the individuals appointed as commissioners must possess high integrity, be non-partisan, and maintain a clean track record, given the sensitive nature of transitional justice, which focuses on repairing the social fabric broken by the violence that occurred in 2013.
In November 2024, President Salva Kiir signed into law the Commission for Truth, Reconciliation, and Healing Act 2024. The act will establish a mechanism to investigate human rights abuses, war crimes, and other atrocities.
Yakani has been advocating and calling on the MPs to finalize the bills for the establishment of the Commission for Truth, Healing, and Reconciliation and the Compensation and Reparation Authority before parliamentary recess, adding that political transition cannot be successful without effective and genuine transitional justice.
“Transitional justice is a foundation for building a state during a post-conflict situation. We hope that the legislation for the transitional justice will be enacted before the parliament breaks for recess,” he said.
The two bills under chapter 5 of the 2018 revitalized peace agreement are critical in paving the way for healing, reconciliation, and also compensation to victims and survivors of the conflict that broke out since December 2013.