South Sudan's English Daily Newspaper
"We Dare where others fear"
By Benjamin Takpiny
The transitional unity government has been asked to include persons living with disabilities (PWDs) in the transitional justice, reconciliation and healing process under chapter five of the 2018 revitalized peace agreement.
Edmund Yakani, the Executive Director for the Community Empowerment for Progress Organization (CEPO) called upon the committee in the Transitional National Legislative Assembly (TNLA) charged with dealing on transitional justice, reconciliation and healing not to exclude persons with disabilities from actively participating in the process.
“Working for inclusive transitional justice is necessary for ensuring that no one is left behind in setting the ground for implementation of transitional justice in South Sudan,” Yakani said in a statement issued on Sunday in Juba.
He said that the Transitional Justice Resource Centre will be closely monitoring the process for the enactment of laws guiding the transitional justice institutions by MPs in the TNLA.
“The process for the enactment of the transitional justice legislation has to be more citizens driven. It is good that up to now the national parliament committee in charge of the legislation is fully engaging the citizens, constituencies for more inputs on the content of the draft legislation that is in the third reading in the national parliament,” Yakani noted.
Yakani said that views of the citizens on the content of the transitional justice legislation demonstrates evidence of a people centered process, adding that if the citizens are widely involved it helps build trust and confidence in the transitional justice legislation.
He thanked the TNLA Committee on Peace and Reconciliation, for inviting the civil society to make inputs on the Commission on Truth, Healing and National Reconciliation (CTHR) and Compensation and Reparation Authority (CRA).
Yakani said that it is essential for civil society to be effectively and genuinely engaged on the transitional justice legislation process, adding that political transitional without functional transitional justice will not be realized at all without civil society participation.
He said that transitional justice provides opportunity of building the shatter social fabric of the country.
“Our transitional justice resource centre is fully convinced that South Sudan requires functional transitional justice for realization of successful political transitional process,” Yakani said.
