Improved Accountability Is the Only Path to Sustainable Peace
[South Sudan Law Society]
New Report Calls for Comprehensive Justice Sector Reform in South Sudan
Juba, June 6, 2013 (SSNA) -- In response to high levels of
inter-communal and politically motivated violence, a new report by the
South Sudan Law Society (SSLS), Challenges of Accountability: An
assessment of dispute resolution processes in rural South Sudan,
provides an empirical analysis of how justice systems in Eastern
Equatoria, Jonglei and Upper Nile are attempting to meet the legal
needs of rural populations caught up in vicious cycles of conflict.
The report was supported by Pact and funded by the Bureau for
International Narcotics and Law Enforcement (INL) at the U.S. State
Department.
In recent years, inter-communal and politically motivated violence has
killed thousands of people in rural areas. The perpetrators of this
violence are able to kill innocent people, loot livestock, destroy
property, abduct women and children and commit acts of sexual violence
with impunity.
According to the report, in areas surveyed in Eastern Equatoria,
Jonglei and Upper Nile States:
20 percent of households reported having one or more household
members killed in the past two years.
20 percent of households in Akobo and 10 percent of households in
Pibor reported that one or more household members had been abducted in
the past two years.
Nearly 40 percent of households reported having something stolen
from them in the past two years; 60 percent of these incidents
involved the theft of cattle or other livestock.
The report found that the existing justice services are almost
completely unable to hold the perpetrators of violence accountable.
Key challenges arise in investigating and prosecuting these crimes and
ensuring that governance institutions respect, protect and fulfill the
rights provided for in the Transitional Constitution and other sources
of law.
“Since the end of the war in 2005 and independence in 2011, the
Government of South Sudan has struggled to build effective governance
and rule of law institutions,” said David K. Deng, the report’s author
and research director of the South Sudan Law Society (SSLS). “To
develop a justice system that is responsive to the needs of its
people, the Government must design and implement strategies for
combating impunity for inter-communal and politically motivated
violence."
The report also found injustices that pervade the customary and
statutory court systems. Local justice systems—comprised of a range of
formal and informal dispute resolution processes at the county level
and below—routinely accept, assess and resolve certain types of
disputes. However, the manner in which they resolve disputes can
perpetuate harmful practices that disproportionately affect women and
children in violation of their constitutional and statutory rights.
For example:
Some courts condone and encourage forced marriage in the
settlement of disputes. These unions are often accompanied by violence
or threats of violence. Rarely are girls able to rely on courts to
enforce statutory prohibitions on forced marriage.
Young women are sometimes pressured to marry their rapists to
avoid the stigma that society attaches to rape victims and secure
bridewealth payments for the family.
Local justice systems rarely prosecute domestic violence unless a
woman’s life is at risk. When women retaliate, injuring or killing
their abusive husbands, they are punished with harsh prison sentences
that do not take into consideration the mitigating factor of abuse.
Courts sometimes punish people who are unable to repay their debts
with imprisonment for indefinite periods of time.
“Every justice system has its shortcomings,” said Casie Copeland, the
report’s lead editor and a technical advisor with Pact. “Yet the fact
that one-fifth of the households in these areas, eight years after the
civil war ended, reported having one or more household members killed
in the last 24 months is shocking and illustrates that an underlying
cycle of violence continues in rural areas. In order to address this
crisis, these challenges must be discussed openly and addressed
through intelligent and evidence-based reforms.”
The report highlights capital punishment as one area in desperate need
of reform. Despite signing a UN resolution calling for a moratorium on
the death penalty, senior government officials have said that they
will continue judicial executions until a constitutional prohibition
on the death penalty is in place. Continued support for capital
punishment is justified by a perception that South Sudanese
overwhelmingly support the use of the death penalty. However, the
majority of the study’s respondents opposed the death penalty. Most
respondents preferred the customary remedy for homicide, in which the
perpetrator pays cattle or other forms of compensation to the family
of the deceased as compensation.
Restorative remedies, designed to reconcile opposing parties and
repair social relationships rather than exact retribution and revenge,
are a common theme underpinning South Sudanese notions of justice. By
building upon restorative views of justice and balancing them with the
state’s interest in punishing crime, the government can provide
justice services that are more responsive to the needs of its
citizens.
The report offers a series of detailed recommendations for how the
government and its international partners can help to improve access
to justice for rural populations, including:
Extending and strengthening justice services at the local
government level to ensure greater access to justice in rural areas.
Enacting a comprehensive set of legislative reforms, including the
development of legislation pertaining to legal aid, family law and
gender-based violence.
Clarifying the role of paralegals and moving forward on plans to
give them legal capacity to represent clients in court for minor
disputes.
Stationing military judge advocates at the divisional headquarter
level and below and ensuring that they accompany any significant
deployment of troops.
Integrating support to the justice sector into all conflict
reduction programming.
“South Sudan’s justice system is in need of urgent attention and
support if it is to ensure accountability and provide fair and
effective services to rural populations,” said Deng. “This is a
long-term endeavor that will require a substantial investment of time
and resources, but it is central to building a viable, legitimate and
peaceful state.”
About the South Sudan Law Society (SSLS)
The South Sudan Law Society (SSLS) is a civil society organization
based in Juba. Its mission is to strive for justice in society and
respect for human rights and the rule of law in South Sudan. The SSLS
manages projects in a number of areas, including legal aid, community
paralegal training, human rights awareness-raising, and
capacity-building for legal professionals, traditional authorities,
and government institutions. For more information on the SSLS, visit
www.southsudanlawsociety.org.
About Pact, Inc.
Pact is an international NGO that strengthens local capacity, forges
effective governance systems and transforms markets into a force for
development. Across Africa, Eurasia and Asia, Pact implements more
than 70 programs in the areas of capacity development, governance,
health and natural resource management. Pact has been operating in
South Sudan and Sudan since 2002. The total value of its current
program portfolio in the area of peacebuilding, access to justice,
capacity development, local governance and WASH is over $15 million.
Contacts:
David K. Deng
Director, Research Department
South Sudan Law Society (SSLS)
Tel: +1 (202) 604-0305 (U.S.)
+211 955 518 206 (S. Sudan)
Email: [email protected]
Casie Copeland
Technical Advisor
Pact South Sudan
Tel: +211 955 159 999
Email: [email protected]
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