The 51st Session of the Human Rights Council

12 September 2022 – 7 October 2022

Item 10: Interactive dialogue on the oral update of OHCHR on technical assistance and capacity-building for South Sudan        

5 October 2022

Statement of Meezaan Center for Human Rights and Geneva International Centre for Justice

Delivered by Farah Caïdi 

Thank you President, 

We welcome the work of the Office of the High Commissioner, and the activities led by the Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan as a follow up of their report on sexual and gender based violence of March 2022. 

We remain, however, deeply concerned about the appalling reports from victims. 

Sexual and gender based violence, most often affects the most vulnerable groups. These outbreaks of violence, reveal a profound and ongoing systemic pattern of impunity, exposing the institutional weaknesses.  

We welcome  the UNDP’s efforts to help educate vulnerable groups about their rights, as well as the awareness campaigns conducted for law enforcements and institutional staff. 

Still, concrete measures are needed to enhance access to justice for the most vulnerable. In that view we highly encourage the implementation of UNDPs mobile courts in the most isolated areas. 

We strongly support the stance that traumas and injustice, if left unattended, can only fuel further cycles of violence.

Sustainable peace cannot be reached without accountability, and no trauma can be healed without justice. 

Meezaan Center and Geneva International Centre for Justice (GICJ) reiterate our strong support to the Commission. 

We urge this Council to ensure an effective interim reparation mechanism for victims as well as the implementation of an inclusive and representative transitional justice system. 

I Thank you.