A/HRC/40/CRP.1 alleged perpetrators of human rights abuses accountable through criminal justice processes.1536 The Government has clarified “the misconception that amnesty being issued by the President of the Republic condone violations of human rights in its communications with the Commission and has stated that the latest amnesty was restricted only to offences against the state as provided in the South Sudanese penal law. In this connection, it pointed out that the Terrain Hotel trial would not have taken place if the amnesty had covered serious crimes committed by members of organized armed forces.” 1537 No amnesty can prevent the Hybrid Court from indicting a person. As the R-ARCSS clearly provides: “[t]he HCSS shall not be impeded or constrained by any statutes of limitations or the granting of pardons, immunities or amnesties”. 1538 The Draft Statute of the Hybrid Court similarly confirms that: “An amnesty or pardon granted to any person falling within the jurisdiction of the Hybrid Court in respect of crimes referred to in this Statute and any statutes of limitation shall not be a bar to prosecution.” 1539 2. Conclusion Because of the scale of the violations and crimes, the need for justice, reconciliation and healing in South Sudan is critical and indispensable for the recovery of the country and preventing a return to the horrific violations of recent years. South Sudan however faces significant challenges in implementing the agreed transitional justice mechanisms and processes a lack of financial, organisational and human resources. Chapter V of the R-ARCSS provides a sound basis for the delivering justice, promoting reconciliation and providing for reparations for victims, including by harnessing and adapting South Sudan’s rich customary institutions. The transitional justice architecture create by the Revitalized Agreement has the potential, if implemented, to contribute to the achievement of the broader goals of transitional justice as long as there is sustained political will and effective leadership for its implementation. The task of the Revitalized Government, when it takes office in May 2019, will therefore be to inject greater urgency into the establishment of these mechanisms and the other processes for dealing with the past, in a manner that honours the victims, and ensures that no South Sudanese are excluded from participating in these processes. In that endeavour, the national authorities must be prepared to invest sufficient national resources in the pursuit of the goals of transitional justice, and to seek and receive assistance from other bodies, including the AU, the UN as appropriate. D. Domestic Criminal Justice Context The transitional justice mechanisms set out in Chapter V of the R-ARCSS are essential to addressing the gross violations and international crimes that have occurred during the conflict and to starting the reconciliation, healing and institutional processes necessary to move South Sudan beyond its cycles of recurring violence toward enduring peace. However, in the long term, sustainable peace will also require South Sudan to develop a robust domestic culture of the rule of law buttressed by strong justice institutions. The history of impunity, driven by blanket amnesties, promotions for those most responsible for atrocities, and a weak domestic rule of law capacity has severely undermined victims’ ability to obtain effective remedy or reparations. As detailed in the Commission’s last report, there are pockets of capacity and of proactive committed members of the law enforcement and legal sectors providing the basis for rule of law development in South Sudan; however, there remains a serious lack of resources and an ongoing need for skills development and a sustained contribution to capacity building. The Commission will not repeat that analysis but merely highlight a few areas where there have been notable developments. 1536 See UNDP, Search for a New Beginning: Perceptions of truth justice, reconciliation and healing in South Sudan, June 2015, p. 3. Statement of the Delegation of South Sudan to the 63 rd Session of the African Union Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, 24 October-13 November 2018. 1538 R-ARCSS, Article 5.3.5.4. 1539 Draft Statute of the Hybrid Court of South Sudan, Article 13. 1537 194