Respect establishment of war crimes court, US tells South Sudan leaders

First Vice-President of South Sudan Riek Machar (left) shakes hands with President Salva Kiir as Second Vice-President James Wani Igga looks on after the formation of a new cabinet of the Transitional Government in Juba on April 29, 2016. AFP FILE PHOTO

What you need to know:

  • The defence of the proposed court by President Barack Obama administration may make it difficult for South Sudan's factions to avoid accountability for atrocities that both sides are said to have committed.
  • President Kiir and his deputy argued that the court consisting of judges from South Sudan and other African countries would impede reconciliation in the aftermath of a civil war that took tens of thousands of lives.

The United States has said South Sudan leaders should respect their commitment to establishing a “hybrid court” to adjudicate charges of war crimes.

“We're disappointed,” State Department deputy spokesman Mark Toner said in response to President Salva Kiir's and Vice-President Riek Machar's joint rejection of the court in a commentary in the New York Times on June 7.

“We firmly support the African Union’s efforts to establish this hybrid court,” Mr Toner said. “And we expect the parties to fulfill their responsibilities.”

He noted that creating the court is one of the elements in the August 2015 South Sudan peace agreement signed by Mr Kiir and Mr Machar.

Washington is Juba's largest bilateral donor and played a leading role in the process that led to the country's independence in 2011.

The defence of the proposed court by President Barack Obama administration may make it difficult for South Sudan's factions to avoid accountability for atrocities that both sides are said to have committed.

President Kiir and his deputy argued that the court consisting of judges from South Sudan and other African countries would impede reconciliation in the aftermath of a civil war that took tens of thousands of lives.

They instead called for the creation of “a national truth and reconciliation commission modeled on those of South Africa and Northern Ireland.”

The State Department said in response that the US is not opposed to such a commission, which, it said, “could be an important part of this peace agreement.”

But the hybrid court and a truth-and-reconciliation body are “not mutually exclusive,” Mr Toner said. “There needs to be accountability.”