South Sudan's English Daily Newspaper
"We Dare where others fear"
By Simon Deng
Participants at a recent public consultation on constitution-making have called for greater youth involvement, demanding a 20 per cent allocation for young people in governance.
They also advocated for the direct election of the Chief Justice to enhance accountability and transparency within the judiciary.
The two-day training, held in Juba, Central Equatoria State, was organised by the Support Peace Initiative Development Organisation (SPIDO) with funding from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)’s Access to Justice, Security, and Human Rights Strengthening Programme.
Advocate Morris John Peter, the Programme Officer for SPIDO, stated that participants articulated key demands to be included in the forthcoming permanent constitution.
“We jointly agreed on a 35 per cent representation for women to be enshrined in the permanent constitution, in line with the South Sudan Women’s Charter, and a 20 per cent allocation for youth based on the South Sudan Youth Charter,” Peter said while presenting recommendations at the conclusion of the symposium.
“We propose that the Chief Justice be elected by the judiciary, possibly through the Judicial Service Commission, while ensuring the independence of the judiciary is preserved in the permanent constitution,” he added. Peter also noted that participants felt the office of the president should be maintained for at least five years, allowing eligible candidates to serve only two terms if successful in elections.
“The permanent constitution should facilitate the promotion of loan facilities for the most vulnerable groups to empower them economically,” he concluded.
The training aimed to equip participants with knowledge of the constitution-making process, their roles in public consultations, and how to engage communities in shaping the country’s permanent constitution.
