Justice Minister calls for tough criminal justice system

The Minister of Justice and Constitutional Affairs Ruben Madol Arol has called for strengthening the justice system to hold criminals accountable.

“We have to accept that the citizens of South Sudan are not satisfied with the way we are dealing with criminal accountability issues, we have to understand what is wrong in the criminal justice system in South Sudan, we have to see who are the victims of these criminal justice system,” Arol said in Juba on Wednesday while assessing prisoners’ files from various police stations.

He said strengthening the justice system will ensure fair and speedy justice.

 Experts on the UN Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan, while appearing recently before the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, noted that impunity is a major driver of the human rights and humanitarian crises in South Sudan, which continue to cause immense trauma and suffering for civilians in the country.

“Senior public officials and military officers should be held accountable for serious crimes, or we will never see an end to the gross human rights violations,” Andrew Clapham a member of the Commission said.

He added that attacks against civilians persist precisely because perpetrators are confident they will enjoy impunity.