The UN Mission in South Sudan or UNMISS Deputy Special Representative met the Minister of Justice to address administration of law for the Internally Displaced Persons or IDPs who commit serious crimes.
Mustapha Soumare says some IDPs in UN protection sites commit serious offences such as murder and rape that should be handled by South Sudanese laws.
Technical teams in UNMISS and the Ministry of Justice are proposed to formulate appropriate ways of addressing the question of justice for crimes committed by IDPs, he tells journalists in Juba.
Soumare says UNMISS is engaging with the Transitional Government of National Unity to provide favourable environment for voluntary return of IDPs to their homes.
Minister of Justice, Paulino Wanawilla Unango, says crimes committed by IDPs deserve penalty in accordance with the law.
But, he observes that the government has to respect the UN protection sites as required by international law.
To punish criminal acts of IDPs, the government has to cooperate and agree with UNMISS, Justice Wanawilla says.
The officials were speaking on Tuesday morning after meeting in the Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs.