South Sudan's English Daily Newspaper
"We Dare where others fear"
By Simon Deng
The Deputy Commissioner for the Commission for Refugees Affairs, John Dabi on Friday reiterated the government’s commitment to maintain it’s now acclaimed open door policy for refugees.
“In the aftermath of the prolonged conflict in neighboring Sudan, South Sudan has emerged as a beacon of hope for those fleeing violence and persecution, the steady influx of refugees numbering in their thousands has indeed strained our resources and infrastructure,” said Dabi during the opening of the roundtable discussion on access to justice for refugees and asylum seekers at Pyramid Hotel in Juba.
“We have the open door policy, we really understand what it means to be refugees, the flight of refugees, asylum seekers, IDPs among us cannot be overstated, they represent the marginalized and vulnerable segment of our society deserving the same right and protection,” he added.
Chief Justice Chan Reech Madut, said the judiciary of South Sudan has taken up access to justice as a very serious matter for everybody including refugees.
“Access to justice is a very important principle that should be observe by everybody and every institutions, sometime issues related to gender based violence happen, in court, we have taken access to justice very seriously,” said Madut.
He however, revealed that refugees continue to face challenges when it comes to processing their stay such as failure to understand the court procedures, inability to pay advocate fees and the language barriers.
Gloria Nyaki, Assistant Protection Officer for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), said they are supporting initiatives that seek to advance the rule of law and access to justice for refugees and returnees.
“UNHCR supports initiatives that aim to ensure and develop and also advance rule of law, access to justice for us connotes access to fair, effective and accountable mechanism to human rights protection,” said Nyaki.
She disclosed that improving access to justice entails ensuring that returnees, internally displaced persons, refugees and asylum seekers are sensitized about sexual- based violence and women rights.
