Dear Media Partners,
The United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) is supporting the Judiciary of South Sudan and the Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs to deploy the first Mobile Court to Renk Town from 27 Jan to 22 February 2025.
The Mobile Court will try 42 serious cases for inmates held in the Renk County Prison since 2021, eight of which include Sexual and Gender Based Violence (SGBV) and potential conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV) offences.
The Judiciary of South Sudan will deploy two High Court Judges, including one woman, from Juba and Wau to Renk Town. The process will utilize existing judicial actors and prosecutors, investigators and other police officers to conduct investigations of the cases under trial, present cases in court, and provide security to the judges and detainees.
Mobile Courts provide a temporary extension of the formal judicial system and deliver justice directly to underserved communities and reinforce the rule of law where it is most needed.
These mobile courts, which have been previously deployed in Unity, Western Bahr el Ghazal, and Warrap in 2024 and 2023, are transforming justice delivery, changing attitudes towards sexual violence and children's rights, and instilling hope in communities that fair trials are possible, and perpetrators face justice.
PLEASE NOTE:
• While the mobile court is being deployed in Renk Town, we hope that media organizations can travel or work with media colleagues in that area to cover this important initiative.
• UNMISS will issue a press release on Monday 27 Jan and can provide weekly updates to media regarding actions undertaken by the Mobile Court in Renk Town.
Date: Monday 27 January to 22 February 2025
Venue: Renk Town Court, Renk, Upper Nile State
For more information, please contact: Rabindra Giri rabindra.giri@un.org +211 912166696