On 29 January 2021, South Sudan’s Council of Ministers took a decision that potentially marks a crucial step towards the pursuit of accountability and justice for victims of the atrocities committed in the conflict that began in December 2013. The Council of Ministers approved a plan by the Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs for the establishment of the Hybrid Court for South Sudan (HCSS), as well as the Commission for Truth, Reconciliation and Healing (CTRH) and the Compensation and Reparation Authority (CRA). The Council of Minister’s decision comes after years of delays and deliberate
obstruction by the South Sudanese government of efforts to establish the mechanisms, in particular the HCSS that is meant to prosecute the most serious crimes committed in the conflict.
Amnesty International calls on the South Sudanese government to urgently take concrete steps towards the establishment of all three mechanisms to ensure truth, justice, and reparations for all victims.