South Sudan starts process to set up truth and healing commission

JUBA – South Sudan government on Wednesday convened a high-level consultative meeting for the establishment of the Commission for Truth, Reconciliation and Healing which is provided for in the revitalized peace agreement signed in 2018.

First Vice President Dr. Riek Machar Teny presided over the launch of the consultative meeting in present of senior government officials and members of the diplomatic community, and stressed in his speech that telling truth is important in setting South Sudan, the world’s youngest country, on the path to reconciliation.

“For people to reconcile, you must talk it out. You must tell the truth, what happened. Because you won’t reconcile without telling it and this is important,” Machar who is also the leader of the main armed opposition SPLM-IO stated.

“Once we have told the story, then we say: ‘okay, let us move forward.’ That becomes the process of reconciliation,” the opposition leader said, adding that to move forward, “we must leave the past behind.”

“There can be other things that would happen in the process because the result from the commission will be awaited by the other mechanisms; the hybrid court. Healing process takes time. You first reconcile, and then you accept that this thing is over then you start to heal,” he continued.

The meeting was attended by the minister of justice Rueben Madol, minister of defense Angelina Teny, minister of federal affairs Lasuba Wango, minister of gender and social welfare Aya Benjamin, members of the diplomatic body and representatives of the parties to the revitalized peace agreement.