SECOND FIELD MISSION OF THE AFRICAN UNION COMMISSION OF INQUIRY ON SOUTH SUDAN TO JUBA, SOUTH SUDAN

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia, May 26, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ -- SECOND FIELD MISSION OF THE AFRICAN UNION COMMISSION OF INQUIRY ON SOUTH SUDAN TO JUBA, SOUTH SUDAN

When& Where: 25thMay– 7th June2014, Juba Grand Hotel, South Sudan.

The African Union Commission of Inquiry on South Sudan is expected to meet with South Sudanese citizens as well as the other pressure groups. This is in addition to meetings with Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) and other actors that could assist it in its investigations.

Why: To fulfill the mandate of the South Sudan Commission of Inquiry which is captured in the Communiqué of the PSC on 30 December 2013 and can be distilled as follows

a) To investigate the human rights violations and other abuses committed during the armed conflict in South Sudan;

b) To investigate the causes underlying the violations;

c) To make recommendations on the best ways and means to ensure accountability, reconciliation and healing among all South Sudanese communities with a view to deterring and preventing the occurrence of the violations in future; and

d) To make recommendations on how to move the country forward in terms of unity, cooperation and sustainable development;

e) To submit a report within a maximum period of three (3) months.

The Terms of Reference (ToR) of the South Sudan Commission of Inquiry are to:

a) Establish the immediate and remote causes of the conflict;

b) Investigate human rights violations and other abuses during the conflict by all parties from 15 December 2013;

c) Establish facts and circumstances that may have led to and that amount to such violations and of any crimes that may have been perpetrated;

d) Compile information based on these investigations and in so doing assist in identifying perpetrators of such violations and abuses with a view to ensuring accountability for those responsible;

e) Compile information on institutions and process or lack thereof that may have aided or aggravated the conflict resulting in violations of human rights and other abuses;

f) To examine ways on how to move the country forward in terms of unity, cooperation and sustainable development;

g) Present a comprehensive written report on the overall situation South Sudan to the African Union Peace and Security Council within a period of three (3) months from the commencement of its activities.

h) Make recommendations based on the investigation on the following:

i. appropriate mechanisms to prevent a recurrence of the conflict;

ii. mechanisms to promote national healing and cohesiveness, particularly focusing on the need for all South Sudanese communities to live together in peace;

iii. modalities for nation building, specifically focused on building of a functional political order, democratic institutions and post conflict reconstruction;

iv. accountability mechanisms for gross violations of human rights and other egregious abuses to ensure that those responsible for such violations are held to account.

The Chairperson of the Commission, in consultation with the Chairperson of the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights (ACHPR)and other relevant AU structures, established a Commission to investigate the human rights violations and other abuses committed during the armed conflict in South Sudan and make recommendations on the best ways and means to ensure accountability, reconciliation and healing among all South Sudanese communities.

Therefore, the Commission of Inquiry is inviting representatives from all segments of the South Sudanese society that may be interested in appearing before it.