AU committee launches probe into alleged war crimes in S. Sudan
September 9, 2014 (BOR) – A special human rights commission formed by the African Union (AU) has begun its investigations into whether crimes were committed in South Sudan’s Jonglei state during the country’s current crisis, which erupted in mid-December last year.
“Our mandate is to gather evidences as much as possible that could help the team identify alleged victims of the violence of the crisis that started in December; Evidences that could be able to indicate who is the alleged perpetrator of the crisis,” said Dougan in Bor.
Dougan said the commission will also work towards reconciliation, healing and accountability.
The commission, which composes of human rights experts, will spend a week in Jonglei to meet with victims and eyewitnesses as part of its investigation and to gather crime-related evidence.
Dougan said objective scientific evidence collected during the course of the investigation will be used to determine whether war crimes, genocide and sexual violence occurred.
The commission is also tasked with investigating what role the South Sudanese government played in the violence.
“[The] investigation will also link the government institutions to the violence, exposing if any [were responsible and] the areas in which the institutions failed to do what would have prevented the crisis from happening,” said Dougan.
Last week, a government committee launched its own investigation into the level of destruction caused by the conflict, as well as the circumstances in which civilians lost their lives.
It is not known if or when the findings of the government investigatory committee will be made public.
Thousands have been killed and more than 1.5 million displaced since fighting erupted more than eight months ago after a political spat in the country’s ruling party (SPLM) turned violent.
Both sides accuse each other of committing atrocities against civilians, while ongoing peace talks in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, have failed to achieve a lasting political solution to the crisis.
(ST)