A/HRC/34/13
59.
Costa Rica was concerned about the indiscriminate use of violence, especially
sexual violence, the high rates of illiteracy and the imposition of the death penalty.
60.
Croatia urged South Sudan to demilitarize the country and depoliticize human rights,
especially in respect of the death penalty, arbitrary arrests and unlawful detentions.
61.
Cuba acknowledged the major challenges faced by South Sudan in promoting and
protecting human rights and urged the international community to enhance its support.
62.
Cyprus welcomed the recent ratification by South Sudan of various international
human rights instruments.
63.
Czechia appreciated the information presented by South Sudan and made
recommendations.
64.
Denmark was concerned by the lack of protection of women’s rights, including
sexual and gender-based violence, and about the continued recruitment of child soldiers.
65.
Djibouti encouraged South Sudan to make efforts to promote and strengthen human
rights.
66.
Egypt welcomed the level of compliance with international commitments and the
efforts made by South Sudan to secure the rights to housing, food and education.
67.
The Minister of Justice and Constitutional Affairs thanked the delegations for their
interest in assisting his Government in improving human rights protection. He reported that
the Council of Ministers had adopted a resolution requesting the United Nations to assist in
providing human rights training to members of the armed forces, whose tribal and
customary ways of thinking posed an obstacle to their understanding of human rights.
Ideally, all reported violations would be investigated by the new hybrid court, whose
impartiality was assured by the fact that its members would come from other African
countries, not from South Sudan.
68.
To combat impunity successfully, training must be provided for prosecutors,
investigators and judges. There was a shortage of both manpower and facilities for that
purpose, and there were not enough courts or judges to cover a vast country in which 85 per
cent of the population lived in rural areas without the infrastructure needed for clean water,
housing and health care. Assistance was needed from the international community to
combat poverty and reduce insecurity.
69.
The quota establishing that 25 per cent of members of public institutions had to be
women was strictly observed, unless candidates with a sufficient level of education could
not be found. Women needed encouragement to exercise their right to education. It was
particularly difficult to combat child marriage and to prevent pupils from dropping out of
school in states such as Upper Nile, where most schools had been destroyed and had yet to
be rebuilt.
70.
Concerning relief assistance to the civilian population, the President had formed a
committee that coordinated with UNMISS. Together, they assessed how best to deliver
humanitarian relief to citizens and laid down some rules for cooperating so as to reach all
areas of South Sudan, irrespective of who was in control of the area.
71.
The Government was already introducing into domestic law offences proscribed by
the International Criminal Court; the new hybrid court could try perpetrators even though
South Sudan had not yet adhered to the Rome Statute of the Court.
72.
Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) had been taking part in the process of
drafting legislation. Through the Non-Governmental Organizations Act, the Government
had endeavoured to persuade them to work in all areas of the country, so that their services
were fairly distributed.
8
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