South Sudan calls for joint investigation into UN alleged sexual abuses
March 2, 2018 (JUBA) – South Sudanese government Friday demanded to be associated with the investigation into sexual abuses allegations committed by Ghanaian police officers at camp for internally displaced persons in Wau state.
On 24 February, The United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) confirmed the allegations of sexual crimes and announced that the investigation would be carried out by an independent office within the United Nations the Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS).
On Friday, the South Sudanese foreign ministry summoned the UNMISS chief of staff to inform him of the dissatisfaction and condemnation of its government for the sexual abuse on civilians they were supposed to be protected by its police.
“We urge UNMISS to agree to an independent or joint investigation, and not to smuggle out the culprits until these investigations are concluded and offenders brought to book for their actions,” said a statement released by the ministry after the meeting.
Also, South Sudanese Foreign Ministry Undersecretary Baak Valentino Wol told reporters after the meeting they do not trust a probe carried out by a UN agency on an alleged crime committed by a UN peacekeeper.
“We want an independent or joint investigation because we don’t believe that an investigation conducted by one of their agencies or one of their employees would be fair and just,” said John Andruga, director of international organizations at the South Sudanese foreign ministry.
In its statement, the foreign ministry further pointed that the matter had been raised in the parliament and the MPs “debated this incident of abuse of our innocent women and girls in Wau,” and have strongly “condemned the UN Police force for betraying the trust of our people”.
The South Sudanese courts cannot try the Ghanaian peacekeepers because they are protected by their diplomatic immunity which prevents from prosecuting by the country in which they commit rape or sexual abuse.
The Ghanaian government condemned the alleged abuse and expressed readiness to cooperate with the UN in this respect. Also, the Ghanaian police administration requested to permit a three-member team to be immediately deployed into the mission area for a better understanding of the incident.
In a related development, the foreign ministry pointed to the increasing reports notified to the UNMISS about crimes across the capital city committed by criminals residing inside the Protection of Civilians (PoC) site in Juba.
“The latest examples include the recent incident where criminals walked from inside UNMISS (United Nations Mission in South Sudan) Poc (protection of civilians) camp 3, in Jebel, Juba, and kidnapped three brothers and murdered them in cold blood, and walked into UNMISS camp,” said the foreign ministry.
In a statement about this matter, Andruga told the press that this issue had been discussed with the UN mission.
“We are demanding that the POC 3 site in Juba be closed down,” said the South Sudanese diplomat, adding they are still waiting for the response.
The UNMISS estimates that over 35,000 people are residing at its three PoC sites in Juba.
(ST)