Aiming to enhance community access to justice, UNMISS completed a two-day training in case management and record keeping today for officials in Bor, Jonglei State.

Speaking at the workshop, UNMISS Judicial Affairs Officer Mike Dzakuma said the training would assist in tackling challenges at different levels of the justice chain.

“Challenges, such as delayed court cases and lack of coordination between prisons and judiciary, arise from poor record management,” he said. “The idea behind this training is to… see how to best manage cases.”

Concerned about violence, looting and displacement of civilians in Pibor, Jonglei State, UNMISS called on the South Sudanese government to act immediately against the perpetrators in a statement released by the mission today.

13 May 2013 – As security reform was a priority of the South Sudanese government, austerity measures had not affected disarmament programmes, a senior government official said in Juba today.

Speaking to journalists at a press conference, South Sudan Disarmament, Demobilization, and Reintegration (DDR) Commission Chairperson William Deng Deng said the government had made significant financial contributions to the process at the height of the country’s economic woes.

7 May 2013- Seeking to empower school children in Unity State, UN Police in Bentiu trained them today in traffic rules and basic human rights.

The UN Police Advisors, who conducted the training in collaboration with South Sudan National Police Service in the state, said their aim was to ensure that children crossed roads safely when going to school and returning to their homes.

6 May 2013 - It was vital for South Sudanese women to assist in drawing up the country’s constitution and translating it into law, the Presidential Advisor on Legal Affairs said in Juba today.

Speaking at the opening of a women’s national conference on constitutional development, Tellar Ring Deng said the country would still be tasked with “translating the spirit of the constitution into acts of law by parliament” after the constitution was made public.

2 May 2012 - As the Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA) released 29 children from its ranks today in Unity State, a state official noted that hunger was a leading reason for young people to sign up.

“Children join the army because of poverty … and (because) some are orphans. Getting food is very difficult,” said George Gatloi Konag, head of the Demobilization, Disarmament and Reintegration (DDR) Commission in the state.

He added that the presence of militia groups in the state had also increased rates of children joining the armed forces.

1 May 2013 - It was vital for lawmakers in Western Bahr El-Ghazal to uphold democracy in building up the nation of South Sudan, State Governor Rizik Zachariah Hassan said in Wau today.

Mr. Hassan was speaking at a workshop organized by UNMISS for legislators on governance, human rights and rule of law, part of a series of outreach events the mission is organizing in the state.

“In the past, various challenges … led the state to face issues (that affected) good governance, human rights and … the rule of law,” said Mr. Hassan.

25 April 2013 - In an effort to boost child protection in Jonglei, members of the state’s Rule of Law Forum met in Bor today to discuss young people’s rights in the state.

About 22 participants attended the meeting, which was organized by UNMISS Judiciary Affairs Section and the Jonglei Legal Administration office.

Topics discussed included full implementation of the Child Act, schools for young mothers and child abduction as well as justice. Participants also debated early forced marriages, child labour, street children and low basic education retention rates.

17 April 2013 – A total of 68 children associated with armed forces in Jonglei state have been demobilized and reunited with their families since 2010, according to Abraham Atem of the South Sudan Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration Commission (SSDDRC).

Speaking at the end of two workshops that were intended to raise awareness among soldiers of the Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA) about child protection issues, Mr. Atem condemned the practice of involving children in military activities.