HRW recommends foreign court to try war criminals

A hybrid court or the ICC should be involved in trying war criminals in South Sudan, Human Rights Watch has recommended in a report.

The report released today by the New York-based rights group says national courts have major deficiencies. They have failed to ensure credible and fair trials of abusive commanders and other perpetrators.

“The unaddressed abuses and bloody cycle of ethnic revenge killings in the South Sudan conflict create an urgent need to hold those responsible for atrocities to account,” said Elise Keppler, associate international justice director at Human Rights Watch.

“But domestic will and capacity to prosecute the cases in South Sudan is not there.”

However, Foreign Affairs Minister Barnaba Marial says the report is incorrect.

“We will not accept anything which is not based on law and on Justice. Talking of ICC, we have not even joined to become a member of that organization,” Dr Marial stated.

“We are a country, we are a full member of the United Nations, full member of the Africa Union, full member of the regional organizations and we are bound by our commitment to our membership to observe the proper methods of running a country.

According to Human Rights Watch, the involvement of foreign judges in the hybrid mechanism would help protect witnesses, prosecutors and judges from intimidation.

The hybrid court model has been used in other countries in Europe, Africa and Asia including Sierra Leone, Lebanon, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Chad and Cambodia.