South Sudan's English Daily Newspaper
"We Dare where others fear"
By Simon Deng
The Special Envoy of the African Union in South Sudan, Joram Biswaro on Tuesday revealed that the long-awaited Hybrid Court will be established after the enactment of the Commission for Truth, Reconciliation and Healing (CTRH) and Compensation and Reparation Authority (CRA) bills.
“My office focuses on transitional justice mechanisms, CTRH, CRA, some of them are advanced, the bills are heading to the Transitional National Legislative Assembly (TNLA) and that would be followed up by the establishment of the Hybrid Court,” said Biswaro.
Chapter 5 of the 2018 revitalized peace agreement calls for the establishment of three transitional justice mechanism including, CRA, Hybrid Court for South Sudan and CTRH.
These mechanisms are critical in ensuring justice and reparations for victims affected by the outbreak of conflict since December 2013.
“What happened in May last year here in Juba, the South Sudanese decided to sequence those mechanisms because they are interdependent, CTRH, CRA and Hybrid Court. Once these two bills are passed they will pave a way for establishment of Hybrid Court, you like it or not it will come,” said Biswaro.
The Hybrid Court in South Sudan is supposed to be established by the African Union Commission in collaboration with the South Sudan government to investigate and where necessary prosecute individuals bearing responsibility for violations of international law or applicable South Sudanese law, committed from December 2013 throughout the end of the Transitional Period.
In May 2023, the Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs together with the Ministry of Cabinet Affairs organized a Transitional Justice conference in Juba, which was attended by Transitional Justice experts from the African Union Member Countries leading to finalization of the two Bills (CTRH and CRA).
